The Rose Kennedy Greenway was abloom yesterday as families from across the area showed up for the park’s inaugural celebration.
“It’s nice to come in here and see this on the way to the waterfront and not just steel,” said Paul Lakus, 62, of Medford, who enjoyed the park with his wife, Alma, also 62.
The park sits where the Interstate 93 Central Artery once dissected the city’s skyline. The Big Dig brought the ugly roadway underground and made way for the narrow, 1.5-mile-long urban park.
Lilacs, day lilies, geraniums and other blooms fill the park’s gardens and offer a respite from the constant stream of cars buzzing by on either side.
Yesterday’s festivities included local musicians, dance troupes and a Ferris wheel.
“What the Greenway has always been about is beauty and connection,” said Nancy Brennan, executive director of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. “You can really see people remember how much joy there is in city life.”
Brennan said thousands of people attended yesterday’s celebration. Among the attendees were Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg - Rose’s daughter and granddaughter, respectively - as well as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Medford native, and Hub Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Urban Adventours offered free bike tours of the park yesterday, though bicyclists usually must use the surrounding roadway..
“This is miles better than what it was,” said operations manager Mike Maker, who credits the end of the Big Dig with making the area more bike-friendly, with fewer potholes and detours.
Deb Murphy, 32, of Acton stopped by the park with her daughter Hannah, 1.
What’s their favorite part? “The highway that’s gone,” Murphy said. “But isn’t that a given?”
“It’s nice to come in here and see this on the way to the waterfront and not just steel,” said Paul Lakus, 62, of Medford, who enjoyed the park with his wife, Alma, also 62.
The park sits where the Interstate 93 Central Artery once dissected the city’s skyline. The Big Dig brought the ugly roadway underground and made way for the narrow, 1.5-mile-long urban park.
Lilacs, day lilies, geraniums and other blooms fill the park’s gardens and offer a respite from the constant stream of cars buzzing by on either side.
Yesterday’s festivities included local musicians, dance troupes and a Ferris wheel.
“What the Greenway has always been about is beauty and connection,” said Nancy Brennan, executive director of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. “You can really see people remember how much joy there is in city life.”
Brennan said thousands of people attended yesterday’s celebration. Among the attendees were Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg - Rose’s daughter and granddaughter, respectively - as well as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Medford native, and Hub Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Urban Adventours offered free bike tours of the park yesterday, though bicyclists usually must use the surrounding roadway..
“This is miles better than what it was,” said operations manager Mike Maker, who credits the end of the Big Dig with making the area more bike-friendly, with fewer potholes and detours.
Deb Murphy, 32, of Acton stopped by the park with her daughter Hannah, 1.
What’s their favorite part? “The highway that’s gone,” Murphy said. “But isn’t that a given?”
Go to:
No comments:
Post a Comment