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Wharf District Parks

A groundbreaking ceremony on December 6, 2005 marked the beginning of construction on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project's Wharf District Parks.  Approximately five acres of parks and open space have been created and opened in spring 2007 where the old elevated artery once obstructed the waterfront from downtown Boston. Located in the heart of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the four parks provides breathtaking views and recreational space not seen in Boston for more than 50 years.

The Greenway's Wharf District Parks are where the city meets the sea.  The parks serve as a threshold from downtown to the harbor and also as a critical link in the Greenway itself. Because of its location at this crucial place in the city, the parks must serve as a strong connection that knits together the urban fabric and also as a memorable destination in its own right. 

The plan for the parks feature a series of outdoor spaces, each unique in character, but unified by a common palette of planting, paving, and lighting. The character of each space is strongly influenced by the adjacent land use, architecture and user groups. The northern parks (Parcels 14 and 15) are adjacent to the heavily used tourist area of Quincy Market and the New England Aquarium, and are treated accordingly with extensive areas of paving, interactive fountains and gathering spaces for festivals and performances. The southern area (Parcels 16 and 17) is adjacent to residential and office uses, and features passive uses in a green landscaped setting.

Parcel 14, between Atlantic Avenue Extension and State Street, will feature the Harbor Park Pavilion. Planned by the National Park Service and the Island Alliance, the pavilion will be the gateway to the Boston Harbor Islands National Park and a resource center for tourist and travel information. Surrounded by some of the city's most treasured tourist attractions, Parcel 14 also features the Walk-to-the-Sea, a major pedestrian thoroughfare to the waterfront from downtown.

Parcel 15, between State Street and Milk Street, includes a multi-use plaza paved with a concentric ring design around the landmark Rings Fountain. Pulsing water columns spouts from the fountain in choreographed patterns, reaching heights of more than 30 feet.



Parcel 16, between Milk Street and India Street, combines with Parcel 15 to create a "Great Room'' of open plaza and lawn surrounded by vertical glass light blades and seating, perfect for large festivals and performances.



Parcel 17, between India Street and High Street, has a nautical theme with salvaged granite seawall stones framing the park and sculptures inspired by the navigational markers and buoys found in historic Boston Harbor. The "Harbor Fog'' element will create a fog mist that will envelope the sculptures, with a pattern of lights that will glow within the mist at night.



The four park spaces are linked by a continuous grand promenade running north-to-south on the west side of the parks with hundreds of trees and thousands of shrubs and plantings. Along the eastern, Harborside edge of the parks, a more informal, meandering series of walking paths are decorated with native plantings and seating made of seawall stones.

The city's former wharves - City, Long, Central, India and Rowes - are the namesake of the district that once crossed through the park sites, but much of the land has been filled in over time.  The wharves' former east/west patterns is shown through paving, lighting, structures and artwork so that visitors to the parks may become aware of the history underfoot.  Artwork and narrative landscape elements tell the stories of maritime commerce, immigration and city building that has occurred over the years.

Wharf District park design by EDAW of Alexandria, VA and Copley Wolff Design Group of Boston.  The design includes open space and parks in the Wharf District between the Boston Harbor Hotel and Rowes Wharf.