Grove Hall Promenade

Client
City of Boston

The underutilized pocket park at Grove Hall has been reimagined with the help of the community, to create a vibrant, safe, and fun space for the neighborhood to enjoy. A promenade lies at the heart of the design, providing a pedestrian connection between the busy commercial street of Blue Hill Avenue with the municipal parking lot at Georgia Street.

The ground plane activates the space with specialty concrete unit pavers that are rhythmically punctuated with bands of textured unit pavers. The paving extends beyond the park into the parking lot, enhancing the pedestrian connection while providing space for food trucks for special events. Theatrical pole lights help provide scale to the space and are used to animate the space at night while distributing safe light levels.

Issues of sustainability are addressed by treating all storm water run-off on site with infiltration basins, minimizing impact to city storm water system. Native ornamental grasses, red twigged dogwood and shade tolerant grasses negotiate the ground plane in between the benches and the adjacent buildings, and create dramatic bands of color and texture throughout the year. Red maple trees help define the edge of the pedestrian connection, while providing comfortable shade in the summer, dramatic color in the fall and allowing sun to filter through and warm the space in the winter.