Franklin Park wins Boston Preservation Alliance Stewardship Award

Franklin Park, owned and maintained by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, was recognized with an award this fall by the Boston Preservation Alliance.

Franklin Park was the recipient of the Boston Preservation Alliance Stewardship Award presented at their 31st annual ceremony on October 21. The Stewardship Award recognizes that preservation is an ongoing effort and work is often completed in many phases.

Boston Parks and Recreation Staff Accepting the 2019 Preservation Alliance Award — Boston Parks and Recreation Department representatives Margaret Dyson and Robert Rottenbucher (center) are joined by Architect Kyle Zick (left) of Kyle Zick Landscape Architecture, INC. and Greg Galer, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance (right) for the presentation of the 2019 Preservation Achievement Award honoring Franklin Park.

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department completed the final phase of a six-year, $7.25 million project to improve pathways and entrances in Franklin Park, the largest investment in the park since the golf clubhouse was opened in 1998. Pedestrians can now utilize a system of improved pathways and entrances throughout the park including the circle loop, a heavily-used walking route that circles the lower portion of Franklin Park including the William J. Devine Golf Course. The project also repointed the park’s historic stone bridges.

Franklin Park "After" Photo — *Franklin Park "after" photo, with repointed bridge and accessible pathway.*

As this project is enjoyed by hundreds of visitors to the park, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department is tackling the next phase of restoration to keep Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision alive and well in Franklin Park. This project has reconnected the park with the many surrounding communities by making entryways more inviting to pedestrians and removing maintenance traffic from pedestrian and cyclist pathways. While restoring the carriageways, original cobblestone gutters were discovered and restored, bringing the paths back to Olmsted’s original plan. The project team even devised creative ways to replicate the beaded mortar distinctive to Olmsted’s bridges by creating custom tools.

Franklin Park Restored Cobblestone Gutters — *Restored cobblestone gutters at Franklin Park.*

“Successful parks depend on more than ornamental plantings, ball fields, and green lawns. Olmsted recognized this fact well over one hundred years ago when designing the pathways, carriage roads, and bridges that are essential to our engagement with Franklin Park. Peeling back layers of not just deferred maintenance, but well-intentioned (but poorly executed) updates has begun to reveal both the bold and subtle beauty hidden throughout the park,” said Greg Galer, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance.

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