Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chinatown, the Financial District, the Waterfront, and North End neighborhoods. Officially opened in October 2008, the 17-acre Greenway sits on land created from demolition of the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway as part of the Big Dig project.[1]
Rose Kennedy Greenway
17 acres (69,000 m2)/1.5 miles (2.4 km)
2008
Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
Open all year (daily 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.)
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is named after Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the matriarch of the Kennedy family who was born in the neighboring North End neighborhood, the daughter of the former Boston mayor for whom the demolished expressway was named. Her son, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, played an important role in establishing the Greenway.
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy was established as an independently incorporated non-profit organization in 2004 to guide the emerging park system and raise funds for an endowment and operations. In 2008, the State Legislature confirmed the Conservancy as the designated steward of the Rose Kennedy Greenway;[2] the Conservancy operates with a lease from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (now Massachusetts Department of Transportation).[3] Since February 2009, the Conservancy has operated the park, leading the maturation of this new civic space, strengthening its physical beauty, and encouraging a sense of a shared community in Boston.
The 2008 legislation established a 50%-50% public/private funding model. Through a multi-party funding agreement announced in June 2017, public funds from the State and City represent ~20% of the operating budget, a new Greenway Business Improvement District funds ~20% of the operating budget, and the Greenway Conservancy generates ~60%.
History[edit]
In the 1940s, planning began for a "Highway in the Skies" that would alleviate traffic congestion and provide a direct route for moving goods in and out of Boston. Construction of the elevated Central Artery began in 1951 and was completed in 1959, displacing more than 10,000 residents and demolishing some 1,000 buildings. The limitations of the Central Artery soon became painfully clear, however. In 1991, after almost a decade of planning, construction began on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, more widely known as the "Big Dig", which was recognized as one of the largest, most complex, and technologically challenging highway projects in the history of the United States.[4]
With the elevated highway to be relocated underground, Boston would be rich in prime urban land. Community and political leaders seized the opportunity to enhance Boston's city life by providing additional parks and gardens to connect some of its oldest, most diverse, and vibrant neighborhoods. The creation of the Greenway was a joint effort of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, and various civic groups.
On October 4, 2008, tens of thousands of visitors came together for the park's inaugural celebration with the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy.[5][6] The following year, on February 23, 2009 the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy assumed operational responsibility for the parks. Today, the Greenway encompasses gardens, plazas, and tree-lined promenades. The Greenway is a key feature of the modern reinvention of Boston, Boston Harbor, the South Boston Waterfront, and the Harbor Islands.
MassDOT's obligation under state law to provide 50% of the funding for the Greenway ended in 2012,[7] and was replaced by year-to-year agreements until a six-year agreement in 2017. Now the Greenway Business Improvement District[8] provides annual funding to the Greenway Conservancy, as do the City of Boston (from a fund established with proceeds from the sale of the Winthrop Square garage) and MassDOT.[9][10]
Sustainable horticulture[edit]
The Conservancy uses organic and sustainable landscape management programs to maintain the parks and features of the Greenway.[131] The Greenway is Boston's only organically maintained public park and one of a handful of organically maintained urban parks in the United States. Organic maintenance means no expenditures for toxic chemicals, and lower expenditures for watering. Plants are healthier, more resilient, and better able to withstand the wear of public use. The Conservancy's practice of using composting and compost tea instead of herbicides and toxins also ensures that run-off from the parks will not pollute Boston Harbor or harm the delicate marine life. Children and pets can freely and safely play on the park lawns without the worry of pesticides.[132]
The Conservancy has planted a series of new garden spaces, including a wildflower meadow, to create a "pollinator ribbon" to attract and support beneficial insects.
![Truth Booth,[133] by The Cause Collective,[134] in the North End Parks, April 2016](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Truth_Booth%2C_Rose_Kennedy_Greenway%2C_Boston%2C_2016.JPG/270px-Truth_Booth%2C_Rose_Kennedy_Greenway%2C_Boston%2C_2016.JPG)
![GLOW exhibit of historic neon signs,[135] summer 2018](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Glow_neon_signs_on_Rose_Kennedy_Greenway_193338787.jpg/320px-Glow_neon_signs_on_Rose_Kennedy_Greenway_193338787.jpg)