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City Celebrates Opening of Allston's New Library Park

Jul 07, 2011

The BRA and the City's Parks and Recreation Department joined Harvard University officials and the Allston community on Thursday, June 7 to celebrate the opening of Library Park. The new city park is located behind the Honan-Allston Branch of the Boston Public Library. Harvard and City officials, park architects, and Allston residents lauded the new ‘green’ extension of the library and the collaborations that made it possible. In a statement, Mayor Menino said, "I want to thank Harvard for working with the community to transform what was a vacant industrial site into a beautiful new sustainable park that will be treasured by Allston residents and the entire city for years to come." Once part of the original Charles River marshland, and later the site of the McNamera Concrete Company, the 1.74-acre of land, has been re-imagined as a natural, sustainable park. The creation of the green space is in accord with the community’s desire for a unique and quiet park for residents of all ages. Library Park offers a variety of spaces and experiences for visitors, including a tiered area for reading and small classes; a hill with views of Allston and Cambridge; a circular event lawn; a rain garden, and a quarter-mile of paths that weave through mostly native deciduous trees and lawns. The park is a pilot project in sustainability for both Harvard and Boston’s Allston neighborhood. It reuses salvaged fill, and collects surface runoff for groundwater recharge through rain gardens. It introduces a variety of mostly native species of plants and 150 trees that will support a more diverse ecology and improve wildlife habitat. Manufactured planting soils, well-draining and filled with organics and nutrients, create optimal growing conditions. The park will be organically maintained by Harvard for the next ten years.

Related Tags

Allston Brighton Open Space Sustainable Neighborhoods Sustainablity 

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