The Charlesgate area has a rich and distinguished history.
Charlesgate is part of the Emerald Necklace park system, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of that system. What is now known as Charlesgate was originally known as the Beacon Street Entrance to the Back Bay Fens.[1] The Back Bay Fens was the first park designed by Olmsted for the City of Boston, in 1878.[2] Construction began in 1880.[3] The plan for an interconnected series of linked parks was devised in 1881, which called for Charlesgate to serve as a vital link.[4] Creating the Back Bay Fens was as much a sanitary as an aesthetic project, because the existing marshy water was heavily polluted from Boston’s rapid growth and industrialization.[5] Olmsted was charged with turning a stagnant, sewage-filled cesspool into a beautiful, clean park. His original plan was to mimic the natural salt marshes of the Fens.[7] Olmsted executed his vision; once completed, the Back Bay Fens served as a clean, natural escape from the blight of industry in Boston. The Fens connected to the Charles River at Charlesgate. Olmsted also designed the first extension of Commonwealth Avenue past Massachusetts Avenue in the new Charlesgate neighborhood.[8]
After the Charles River Dam was constructed between 1905-1910, the water of the Charles River, and by extension around Charlesgate, turned from salty and brackish to fresh, causing plantings to change. A large sewer, the Boston Marginal Conduit, was built at the same time along the entire length of the new embankment (now called the Esplanade) to deliver sewage overflow to Boston Harbor instead of the Charles River. At Charlesgate, the Marginal Conduit joined with the older Stony Brook conduit, which was designed earlier by Olmsted to divert polluted water from Stony Brook directly into the Charles, bypassing the Fens.[9] A gate house designed by the Museum of Fine Arts architect, Guy Lowell, was constructed in 1909 at the junction of these two conduits, and stands to this day.[10] For decades, Olmsted’s plan worked harmoniously. Charlesgate was the vital natural connector between the Charles River, Muddy River, and the draining Back Bay Fens, as well as between the two halves of the Emerald Necklace park system. Unfortunately, this harmony did not last.
Charlesgate was cut off from the Charles River and the Esplanade in 1951, with the construction of Storrow Drive.[11] A State Senator who was instrumental in the effort was Philip G. Bowker, a man who would go on to propose numerous other highway projects (infamously the elevated highway from Kenmore Square to East Boston, across the Harbor), most of which failed.[12] Storrow Drive was widened in 1954-55, which further increased the schism between Charlesgate and the Esplanade. The Muddy River was all but cut-off from the Charles, which drastically deteriorated water quality in the Charlesgate area.
The Charlesgate area was seriously compromised by the construction of the Philip G. Bowker Overpass, completed in 1966.[13] The Overpass spans the entire length of the park, dominating and subjugating Olmsted’s vision under a concrete roof. 1966 was the last year in which it was legal to use Federal funds to reclaim park land for highway development; Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966 stopped this practice.[15]
Although aspects of the park survived on either side of the overpass, and new park elements were introduced on the eastern side, much of the area now lives under the shadow of the Bowker Overpass. The limited parts of Charlesgate that do not sit in the Bowker’s shadow have been neglected. More recently, repairs to the Bowker Overpass by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDot) have threatened vegetation, including large, established trees in Charlesgate, which is currently under the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The Charlesgate portion of the Muddy River continues to have problems with stagnation and pollution, which has decimated local ecosystems.
Recent History
The Charlesgate neighborhood is on the upswing, and the time is ripe for corresponding improvements to the neighborhood’s centerpiece, the park between Charlesgate East and Charlesgate West. The neighborhood’s upswing is driven by a demographic shift from more temporary residents toward a stable and committed population of owner-occupants.
For example, in 1998 a design charrette for the Charlesgate area, called Under the Overpass: A Day of Visions for a Sad Landscape yielded a number of innovative ideas, but they languished without a community organization to push the proposals to fruition. Today, the dedicated residents who lead the Charlesgate Alliance are devoted exclusively to advocating for the area and its adjoining neighborhoods. Founded in late January 2017 by Pam Beale and Parker James, the Charlesgate Alliance has a supporter list of over 170 people and 37 affiliated organizations, who are committed to bringing improvement to Charlesgate and its surrounding area.
In September 2017, the Charlesgate Alliance and Emerald Necklace Conservancy, in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, announced that Landing Studio would be the architectural firm leading the Charlesgate Improvement Outreach Process and Concept Design. Going ahead with the project at this time would not have been possible without the help of neighbors and the Solomon Foundation. Public meetings were held, during which people discussed problems with the park and desires for improved conditions.
In December 2018, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in association with the Charlesgate Alliance, granted $250,000 to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy for Charlesgate Park improvements. This grant — a result of the Charlesgate Alliance’s partnership with the Conservancy — supported initial planning, design, and engineering work for improvements to Charlesgate Park. We are grateful to State Senator Will Brownsberger and Representatives Jay Livingstone and Byron Rushing for their help in stewarding this support.
In February 2019, the City of Boston’s Community Preservation Commission approved $400,000 from Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding for design and engineering of Charlesgate Park improvements. The recommendation was approved by the Mayor, then unanimously approved by the City Council on March 6th. Special thanks to Christine Poff, Mayor Marty Walsh, and City Councilor Josh Zakim for their support on this funding. For more information see this Boston Guardian article.
In March 2019 the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) replaced Olmsted-era railing around Charlesgate and Beacon Street. Later that year, at the urging of the Charlesgate Alliance, the DCR replaced the 1960s lights in the park both in the Grove and Circles areas. Thanks to Patrice Kish at DCR for her leadership on these projects.
What is now known as the Charlesgate Revitalization Project has adapted to two projects which MassDOT has been working on for Bowker Overpass improvement. It continues to get funding from area residents, the Commonwealth, and other interested parties. We are particularly pleased to be consulted as a part of the process with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), which is working on two projects for Bowker Overpass improvement that will improve the quality of Charlesgate Park on both the north and south sides of what we call “the heart of the park” between the Massachusetts Turnpike and Beacon Street.
[1] Referenced a number of times in Carr, Ethan et al, editors, The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: Volume VIII, The Early Boston Years, 1882-1890 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2013).
[2] Haglund, Karl. Inventing The Charles River (Cambridge, MA: Charles River Conservancy and MIT Press, 2003), page 402.
[3] Seasholes, Nancy. Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003), page 217.
[4] Roper, Laura Wood. FLO: A Biography of Frederick Law Olmsted. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973), page 388.
[5] Hall, Lee. Olmsted’s America: An “Unpractical” Man and His Vision of Civilization (Boston: Bulfinch Press, 1995), pages 228-230.
[6] Haglund, page 402.
[7] Zaitzevsky, Cynthia. Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Park System (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1982), page 57.
[8] Bunting, Bainbridge. Houses of the Back Bay: An Architectural History, 1840-1917 (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1967), pages 384-385.
[9] Seasholes, page 217.
[10] Haglund, page 404.
[11] Haglund, page 402.
[12] Cutler, Samuel. “Esplanade Road, Bond Issue Get Committee OK’s” Daily Boston Globe, March 16, 1949, page 1; and “Revolt Beats Esplanade Highway” Daily Boston Globe. April 13, 1949, page 1.
[13] Haglund, page 402.
[14] Obituaries, Boston Globe, August 31, 1966.