The Charlesgate Alliance launched on January 24th, 2017, to bring positive change to the Charlesgate neighborhood. We look forward to working with you! We are dedicated to improving Charlesgate and to knitting together the Charlesgate district. We promise to become an effective force to defend and serve our diverse and dynamic neighborhood.
DCR approved the Charlesgate Alliance’s application for matching funds to remove the stone barrier walls in the park in December 2020. But we need your help! Please join our Take Down the Walls Campaign. See our Donate page for more information.
On October 15th, 2019, at a public meeting at the Harvard Club, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) shared work that needed to be done to the eastbound Storrow Drive bridge in the area of Charlesgate that we call The Bowl and Bridge. Their preferred option 3A at that time enabled “possible daylighting of Muddy River under Storrow EB bridge.”
In response to these plans by MassDOT, the Charlesgate Alliance commissioned new drawings by Landing Studio to show people what a “daylit” or exposed Muddy River to Charles River connection could look like. These were unveiled on November 19th, 2020, at a public meeting. Front page coverage of the event appeared in The Boston Sun. The Boston Guardian also covered the event on page 6 of its December 4th issue.
Mayor Walsh wrote a letter of support to Governor Baker for the Charlesgate Revitalization Project. City Councilor Kenzie Bok also wrote a dazzling letter of support. Karen Mauney-Brodek, Pam Beale, and Parker James then wrote a letter to Governor Baker outlining our goals, which garnered over 30 supporting organizations before it was sent.
The City of Boston made a video with one of our co-founders, Pam Beale, as a result of the Alliance being awarded CPA money in 2019. Parker James is the other co-founder.
See our Achievements page for details on the CPA grant.
Short-Term Goals
- Develop the notion of Charlesgate as a neighborhood – join us and donate!
- Improve the Charlesgate park areas. We hired Project Place to clean the park in the summer of 2019 and 2020 to supplement the work that the Department of Conservation and Recreation performs.
- Consider enhancements that can be made for the Charlesgate area.
- Work with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Landing Studio to begin comprehensive design for the Charlesgate Revitalization Project. This project will utilize $250,000 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and $400,000 from the City of Boston. For more information, see Achievements.
Medium-Term Goals
- Create safe, pedestrian friendly, public areas – Share your ideas
- Improve Muddy River water quality
- Help public agencies like the DCR and MassDOT maintain and improve the area
Long-Term Goals
- Charlesgate revitalization
- A fully integrated Charlesgate neighborhood
- A solid, enduring Charlesgate Alliance organization
Landing Studio Designs
You can view presentations from our past meetings as downloadable PDFs.
Please contact us at charlesgatealliance@gmail.com if you have any questions!