The Rose Kennedy Greenway, Freeway Cap Park, Boston, Massachusetts

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The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a contemporary public park in the heart of Boston. An organically maintained commuting corridor and an outdoor activity and play space, this greenway stretches for 1 1/4miles and contains 11 acres of protected parkland. While owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which also owns and manages the “Tip” O’Neill Tunnel underneath, these parklands are managed and maintained by the Rose Fitzgerald Greenway Conservancy. The greenway attracts millions of visitors who want to gather, play, unwind, and explore in its landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems. After nearly a decade of planning, construction began in 1991 on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project or “Big Dig.” The project aimed to remove the elevated highway and create a tunnel system below the city. It also allowed community leaders to reconnect some of the city’s oldest neighborhoods to the waterfront. The 17-acre park now stretches between Chinatown through the Financial District, Waterfront, and North End neighborhoods. Within the park, visitors can enjoy various activities, art festivals, food truck competitions, concerts, and shopping at the park’s parcels: Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park Dewey Square Park Fort Point Channel Parks Wharf District Parks Harbor Islands Pavilion Armenian Heritage Park North End Parks Carolyn Lynch Garden In addition, visitors can enjoy a variety of free events, such as contemporary public art installations, outdoor fitness classes, a one-of-kind Greenway Carousel, organically cared for plants and landscapes, open-air beer and wine gardens, guided horticulture and public art tours, weekly farmers and artisans markets, signature fountains, and splash pads. The Greenway Conservancy is a non-profit organization that was established in 2004 to guide park development and raise funds for an endowment and park operations. The park opened to the public in 2008, and the Conservancy operates it with a lease from MassDOT. Many parcels of the park have been developed, but some remain in the planning stages. Seeing that abutting properties benefited greatly from The Greenway, the Greenway Conservancy, the State, the City, and adjacent property owners negotiated a Business Improvement District (BID) to support the Greenway Conservancy’s care of the park. BID contributions are financed by an elective tax on properties one block off the park on either side.

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