Back Bay / Beacon Hill open space plan 2000: renewing the legacy ... Fulfilling the vision

22 Pages·2000·0.85 MB·English

by  Boston (Mass.). Parks and Recreation Dept

BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY

M3(6lO> .:.PU3UCLIBRARY
6QV3*KKJ1DOCUMENTSDEPARTMENT
7^ APR 2 6 2000
Back Bay/Beacon Hill
Open Space Plan 2000
RenewingtheLegacy ... FulfillingtheVision
City of Boston
&
Parks Recreation Department
H
ThomasM. Menino JustineM. Lift
Mayor CommissionerofParks&Recreation
Tosubmitcomments,pleasecallAldoGhirinat635-4505x6515,fax[phone]or
[email protected]

TheNeighborhoods
BackBay-BeaconHill
TheSetting TheCharlesRiverBasin
provideswater-relatedrecreational
History opportunitiesandaquatichabitat.
FishladdersattheCharlesRiver
Geology,Soils,andTopography Damallowsomeanadromous
speciestoreachfreshwaterbreeding
LikeCentralBoston,humans areas,mostnotablyAtlanticherring.
haveextensivelymodifiedtheBack TheBasinisalsoanimportant
BayandBeaconHill. TheBackBay, feedingandrestingareafor
ofcourse,getsitsnamefromits winteringwaterfowl.
originalexistenceasabroad,shallow
tidalmarshwithintheCharlesRiver BeaconHilltakesitsname
estuary. Today,theentiretyofthe fromthesentrylighterectedonits
neighborhoodsitsupon15to30feet peaktowarnsettlersofthe
ofartificialfill,depositedoverthree MassachusettsBayColonyincaseof
centuries. Muchofthefillmaterial athreatfromIndiansorforeign
camefromtheoriginalBeaconHill. invaders. Thesouthslopeasitexists
ThepresentdayMassachusetts todaybegantoemergeinthe1790s
StatehousesitsatopBeaconHillat withthebuildingofthepresentState
anelevationofapproximately93 House. Startingatthistime,thehill
feet. Priortohumanintervention, wasreshapedandtheoldbeacon
however,BeaconHillactually takendown.
consistedofthreepeaks,allinexcess
of100feet,withthehighestover140 Cuttingandfillingallowed
feet. Thisledtheearliestsettlersto thedevelopmentofLouisburg
calltheareaTrimount,later SquareandMt.VernonStreetfor
modifiedtoTremont. Although substantialhouselots. Thenorth
widelydescribedasadrumlin,the slopehadthreesectionsbythelatter
originalBeaconHilldidnothavethe 1700s: statelyhousesaround
correctshapenorwascomprisedof BowdoinSquare,anAfrican-
thecorrectmaterial,glacialtill,tobe AmericancommunitybetweenJoy
soclassified. Thehillismore andPhilipsstreetsanda"redlight"
actuallydescribedasaremnantend districtneartheCharlesRiver. The
morainewithsignificantlayersof northslopechangedduelargelyto
stratifiedsandandgravelwhichwas constructionoftheMassachusetts
mostlikelyderivedpriorto,and GeneralHospitalcomplexandof
subsequentlymodifiedby,themost tenementandapartmentbuildingsin
recentglacialevent. the1800s.
WaterResources,Vegetation,and TheBackBayoriginally
FisheriesandWildlife referredtoatidalbodyofwateron
OpenSpacePlan Pagel

TheNeighborhoods
BackBay-BeaconHill
thewesternedgeoftheShawmut continuingdesigncontrols. The
Peninsulawhichstretchedfrom Common,PublicGardenand
BrooklinetotheCommon. Adam, CommonwealthAvenueMallare
finishedin1821toharnessindustrial designatedCityofBoston
waterpower,ranalongwhatisnow Landmarks. Inaddition,the
BeaconStreet,fromCharlesStreetto CommonandGardenareNational
present-dayKenmoreSquare. HistoricLandmarks(thehighesttier
Stagnantwaterandseweragesoon oflistingintheNationalHistoric
ledtodemandstofillthearea. RegisterofHistoricPlaces.)
LandfillbeganatthePublicGarden
andextendedwest. Fromthe1850s DEMOGRAPHICS/HOUSING
tothe1890s,theentireareawas
filledbeyondKenmoreSquareand Theaveragehouseholdsizeis
northtothepresentlocationof relativelysmall,1.6persons. Group
StorrowDrive. quartersaccommodate12%ofthe
area'spopulationduetoanumberof
Parisianboulevardswerethe collegestudentsandsomelodging
inspirationforthelinearplanofthe housetenants. Thisfigure,however,
BackBaywithitsstatelytree-lined hasdiminishedfrom17%in1990
spineofCommonwealthAvenue. duetotherecentsurgeinproperty
Bycontrast,anEnglishmodelwith values. Themedianageof35.8is
squaresinfluencedthelayoutof higherthanthecity-widemedianof
BeaconHillandtheSouthEnd. The 32.7years.
BackBaydevelopedquicklywith
fashionabletownhousesreflecting Therelativeaffluenceofthe
theaffluenceofitsresidences. Deed BackBayandBeaconHill
restrictionscreatedconsistencyfor neighborhoodsisreflectedinan
buildingheights,setbacksand averageannualhouseholdincomeof
masonryconstruction. $109,047,comparedto$56,110forthe
cityatlarge. Anotherindicemore
Intherealmofmorerecent indirectlysupportsthearea's
history,developmentofthe affluence: 75%ofBackBayand
Massachusettsturnpike,the BeaconHillresidentshaveacollege
PrudentialCenterandCopleyPlace degree,whileonly30%ofcity
havecreatedarelativelynewmajor residentsasawholehaveachieved
commercialandhotelcomplex. thiseducationalstatus. Afinal
Also,inthepastdecade,retail indicatorofthearea'srelative
activityhasbeenupgraded affluenceisthat76%ofthehousing
substantiallyonNewburyStreet. stockintheBackBayandonBeacon
BothBeaconHillandBackBayare Hillisvaluedatmorethan$500,000.
nowunderhistoricdistrict Forthecityasawhole,thisfigureis
designationswhichprovide 2%.
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