Fenway (parkway)

The Fenway, commonly referred to as The Fenway, is a one-to three-lane parkway along the southern and eastern borders of the Back Bay Fens in the Fenway - Kenmore neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. As part of the late 19th century, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Park system Emerald Necklace, connects the Fenway common with the Back Bay Fens and Park Drive Commonwealth Avenue Mall to the Riverway. At its entire length of the Fenway runs along the Muddy River and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston. Like other parks in this system, it is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Fenway was the first Parkway, which was constructed for the Emerald Necklace. Its name goes back to an early description of the parallel to the roadway parks, although the name could also apply to high-quality district Fenway - Kenmore. However, most of the local early buildings for educational institutions was designed. Today, among other things, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts as well as many colleges and universities are at the track.

Background

1875 in favor of the voters in Boston and the legislature in Massachusetts to set up a Park Commission to prepare and promote the establishment of public parks in the city. The landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who had already designed Central Park in New York City, spent from this point on much of his time in the area and was asked in the late 1870s by the Park Commission on the outcome of a competition with 23 proposals submitted to decide to design a new park. Olmsted held all competition entries for unsuitable because they are either not at all or on the contrary to strongly considered and therefore not sufficiently respected his opinion, the control of the tides in both cases aspects of a public park. The Muddy River and Stony Brook flowed through the Back Bay Fens, which were exposed at the time the tides, storm surges and wastewater.

The disappointed about the verdict Park Commission asked Olmsted then, join her as a professional consultant and landscape architect. Under his guidance, took the construct known as the Emerald Necklace today, on tangible forms. He decided that the windows dredged, leveled, planted and converted into an almost natural salt marsh should be to clean the flowing water. On this basis, Olmsted built a whole series of parks that stretched from the window near the Commonwealth Avenue to Franklin Park a few miles away. The individual parking areas were connected by scenic parkways with each other, including the Fenway heard.

At the time of planning was expected that in the proposed buildings along the Fenway wealthy inhabitants and the entire environment is upgraded to a high-class neighborhood. When, however, increased land values ​​, settled along the route to a variety of educational institutions. Around 1907 already 22 and further education institutions had settled there, including nine colleges and universities.

During the construction of residential buildings the look of the front facade planned by the park administration had to be approved, so that a "bad -looking building does not diminish the value of the entire neighborhood ." The administration was also able to freely decide whether a proposed building for the front along the park and the parkway generally suitable and that was approvable. Through these measures and restrictions, the Panel, the appearance of the Fenway hoped compared to the neighboring streets to improve significantly.

As part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston, the Fenway today by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR ), but not managed by the City of Boston.

Naming

1887 nor the entire system of roads and parkways of the Boylston Street to Jamaica Pond was designated as the Parkway. The present name Fenway, Riverway Jamaicaway and approved by the Park Commission later this year. The suggestions of names for today's Fenway included, among other things, Rumford, Longview and Riverdale, although the Park Commission had set precise criteria for the designation.

In the entire park system, the name should end every street uniform, " to assist in a natural way the project, the idea of ​​continuity and uniformity of public nearly bring. And if the end could be short, simple and common, it would be in many ways a relief. " In addition, the leaders wished that the name " should be derived from some topographical or historical circumstances of the environment. " For example, " a Parkway instead of Riverdale Road Riverway better " should be named. In a plan for the development of parks and roads from 1879, the area through which the Fenway should be performed as a " swampy pasture " ( fenny meadow ) is described. Therefore, Back Bay Fens, the Commission chose to name the park and Fenway as a term for the Parkway, which runs through the area.

Construction of the road

Fenway was the first designed by Olmsted Parkways, was begun in the 1880s. Construction of the other followed in the 1890s. The work began at the connection to Boylston Street and walked quickly ahead, so that already in 1885 the majority of curbs and gutters was completed. To 1888 the road was completed to Westland Avenue, there was filling however in progress due to lack of first stopped. The report of the engineers states that the construction was halted until the Brookline Avenue at the section, since there are problems with the filler material, which came from the dredging of the new course of the Muddy River. After the rest of the country was opened up, the construction work could be continued so that in 1890 the road to the junction Parker and Huntington Avenue ( Forsyth Way at the Museum of Fine Arts today ) was completed. The construction work at Fenway ended at the beginning of the year 1893, and shortly afterwards the road was opened along its entire length.

Description of the route

The Fenway begins at the intersection with Brookline Avenue and the Riverway and leads to three lanes in each direction in a southerly direction past the Emmanuel College to the junction with Avenue Louis Pasteur. From there, only the middle lane, the outer bend from each leads straight ahead. The traffic on the left lane is subsequently passed to the Park Drive.

If you drive straight ahead, however, the Fenway is two lanes with oncoming traffic, ie, for each direction of travel is a track available. The path leads past the Simmons College and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Then, the route at the Louis Prang Street turns to the northeast and from here has two tracks for each direction of travel, which pass by the Museum of Fine Arts and parts of Northeastern University. A short branch connects the Parkway with the Westland Avenue and from there as a two-lane road in each direction past the Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory, until it ends at the Boylston Street. At the intersection of Boylston Street is a statue of the writer and poet John Boyle O'Reilly from the year 1897.

The Park Drive, which runs along on the opposite side of the Back Bay Fens, begins at the end of Fenway on Boylston Street and Brookline Avenue leads to the past, where the Fenway begins.

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