Beacon Hill Public Garden Spaces

North Slope Open Spaces, Cul-de-Sacs and Walkways (Boston, MA)

May 31, 2007 Georgene A. Bramlage

Residents of Beacon Hill's North Slope (Boston, MA) and civic and government groups work to transform derelict spaces and passageways into neighborhood garden spaces.

Selected North Slope Public Garden Spaces

North Slope residents along with a combination of diverse civic groups, and Boston city government are transforming abandoned lots and neglected passageways into bright neighborhood garden spaces.

• Open Spaces

The Peter Faneuil House Gardens (South Russell Street ) brighten up a derelict playground next to the former Peter Faneuil public school converted to affordable housing; plantings on Joy Street add a little something extra to the exterior of the new wing that provides supportive housing to those with AIDS.

Red benches, chairs, brick paving and containers of annual plants make the garden a pleasant spot of color in an urban environment. Trees and shrubs selected for urban shade knit together a cool inviting environment during the summer months.

The Beacon Hill Garden Club, led by Beacon Street resident Westy Lovejoy, designed and installed both the garden and plantings in 1995. The Peter Faneuil House Gardens gathered awards from many organizations for its work and garden club members continue to maintain the plantings.

• Walkways and Open Spaces

Temple Street (extending from Cambridge Street to Derne Street on the north side of the MA State House) is one of the earliest roads cut into Beacon Hill. In the 19th century it was home to the fashionable and wealthy. By the 20th century, cold-water flats, small trade shops and a large population lead to inner-city problems and an unpleasant neighborhood. In the 1970s a group of residents resolved to return this thoroughfare to an attractive family area. They worked with the city and neighboring Suffolk University to make Temple Street a pedestrian walkway enhanced with plantings they continue to keep up.

Temple Street Park (purchased in 2004 from the Church of St. John the Evangelist Church) was formerly a parking lot and before that two 18th century wooden, clapboard houses. A combination of individuals, Suffolk University and the Boston Parks and Recreation bought the parcel for a neighborhood park. Backed by the stonework of the church’s back wall, the area is planned of peripheral shade plantings around a much-used central sitting area. The same organizing group maintains the area.

Garden of Peace Memorial (approached by a stairway off Bowdoin Street) is a memorial, dedicated in September 2004, to Commonwealth victims of homicide. The central design is a progression leading from a black granite lens (Despair) along a dry stream bed to a sculpture – Ibis Ascending by Judith Kensley McKie - (Hope for the Future). Each large granite rock placed within the streambed features the name of a victim. Peripheral plants include Betula nigra 'Heritage' (Heritage River Birch), Vinca minor Alba (White Periwinkle), and Liriope muscari (unknown white cultivar). The space is meant to be used by people who live and work nearby as well as to be an expression of compassion for the survivors. Information: PO Box 8382, Boston 02114.

St. John the Evangelist Church Garden (entrance 35 Bowdoin Street) is a century-old meditation garden sited between the church and rectory. In 1989, it was dedicated as a Memorial Garden. This quiet retreat is planted with shade-loving plants like Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel), Acer palmatum (Japanese Maple), Wisteria sp., Hamamelis sp.,and several groundcovers. Information: 35 Bowdoin St., Boston 02114

• Cul-de-Sacs

Rollins Place (set back from Revere Street between Anderson and Garden Streets near the top of the Hill) is one of the most interesting of the North Slope’s dozen or more cul-de-sacs because of the faux Greek revival house at its end. The façade hides a precipitous drop to neighboring Phillips Street and provides entrances to the two end houses. Built in the 1840s by contractor John Rollins, the six houses face a communal paved courtyard. Plantings, limited to four small beds and containers, are cooperatively planted and maintained by building residents.

©Text and photograph by Georgene A. Bramlage, May 2007. Reproduction without permission prohibited.

The copyright of the article Beacon Hill Public Garden Spaces in Landscaping is owned by Georgene A. Bramlage. Permission to republish Beacon Hill Public Garden Spaces in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Rollins Place Beacon Hill 2007	St. John Evangelist Church Garden Beacon Hill 2007	Garden of Peace Memorial 2007
Peter Faneuil House Garden 2007	Rollins Place Beacon Hill Sitting Area 2007