Reclaiming A Post-Industrial Riverfront
By John Amodeo and Cathy Offenberg
There are few things Greater Boston is more well-known for than the Charles River and the landmarks, parks, and trails that border it. Every year, thousands of families, runners, and cyclists enjoy these footpaths as they explore the historic city around them. But there is the “The Lost Half Mile,” a formerly inaccessible portion of the Charles River, officially known as the New Charles River Basin, that extends from Monsignor O’Brien Highway between the Museum of Science and Leverett Circle to the Charlestown Bridge.
Tasked by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) and Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) to create the first river-edge connection between the Charles River and Boston Harbor, CRJA-IBI Group served as landscape architect and member of the Prime Consultant Joint Venture team of Ammann & Whitney (now The Louis Berger Group), Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., and Stantec (formerly Vollmer Associates), to reclaim “The Lost Half Mile.” The goal was to transform the derelict underbridge space and weave it back into the fabric of the New Charles River Basin park system, fulfilling Charles Elliot’s century-old vision for uninterrupted paths from the Esplanade to Boston Harbor.
The $26-million North Bank Bridge and its associated park component is the final park project in the New Charles River Basin, one that encompassed a complex public process, balancing the needs of several public agencies and numerous public constituents. The 11-acre park contains waterfront esplanades, passive open space, and special treatment to animate the underbridge pedestrian environment on both the Boston and Cambridge sides of the river.
The planning process included siting a maintenance facility and accommodating such active recreation facilities as multi-use trails, soccer fields, tennis courts, and a skateboard park, much of which will be added in future phases.