Now open: Langone Park and Puopolo Playground in the North End

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department are excited to announce the completion of improvements to the North End's Langone Park and Puopolo Playground, now designed with climate resilient features.

Located on Boston Harbor, these projects are a critical component of Climate Ready Boston, the City’s initiative to build climate resilience to flooding, stormwater, and extreme heat. Highlighted in the most recent Coastal Solutions Report, this is the first project within the Boston park system to integrate the standards set forth by the City of Boston’s Climate Resilient Design Standards and Guidelines for Protection of Public Rights-of-Way.  

In collaboration with other city agencies and stakeholders, the Parks Department built an integrated seawall internal to the park, with overlooks and seating on an elevated boardwalk, which can be raised in the future to increase flood protection. At completion, the project expands recreational opportunities, raises the level of the athletic fields out of the flood zone, elevates the harborwalk by four feet, and makes the sea wall more structurally sound. Resilient solutions identified through Climate Ready Boston are part of and strengthen the strategies outlined in Resilient Boston Harbor to increase access and open space throughout Boston’s 47-mile shoreline while better protecting the City.

The design incorporates structural elements including ground improvements, micro piles, and lightweight soils to elevate the park up to seven feet without affecting adjacent structures, properties, and the existing seawall. The project also implements stormwater and infrastructure protection strategies to allow for programmed flood pathways and faster recovery of the park and neighborhood after storm events.

Other park improvements and amenities include a high-performance natural turf Little League baseball field, a multisport synthetic turf field, a universal access playground, a memorial garden, bocce and basketball courts, and plaza spaces allowing for expansive harbor views, access to the water’s edge, and an open and inviting connection to the neighborhood. When weather permits, the bocce courts and non-turf playing field will be officially opened for public play.

The project was funded with $14.3 million from Mayor Walsh’s Capital Improvement Plan that includes City bond funds and $95,000 from the City of Boston’s Emelie Pugliano Trust Fund dedicated “to maintain and improve the recreational area around and including the municipal pool and bathhouse along Commercial Street in the North End section of Boston,” and, in addition, $1 million from the Community Preservation Act.