Rose Kennedy Greenway

Carousel, food trucks, kids activities, walking tour, map

 

The spectacular Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston's newest park, stretches from TD Garden and the North End to Chinatown.   Just over a mile long, the series of gardens, paths, seating areas, and recreation, the Greenway attracts plenty of Boston locals as well as tourists. 

The Greenway unites Downtown Boston with the waterfront, and offers a seasonal carousel, beautiful gardens and grassy spaces to stroll and picnic, a splashing fountain for kids, and new in 2011, food trucks offering everything from "Beantown franks" to Indian Dosas to cupcakes.

If you've visited Boston in the past, you may remember how an ugly elevated highway called the "Central Artery" slashed through the heart of the city for almost 50 years.   After a 16-year project dubbed the "Big Dig" sank it underground between the Zakim Bridge near TD Garden and South Station across from Chinatown, the Rose Kennedy Greenway sprang into life.

Here's a quick guide to Greenway information on this page:

• Kids activities
• Food trucks!
• Essentials - including hotels near the Greenway
• Walking tour and map of the Greenway

 

Greenway activities . . . just for kids! 

If you're visiting Boston with children, the Greenway may become your favorite spot in the city.

First, you'll find plenty of wide-open spaces for kids to run and play - bring a frisbee!   Despite streets on both sides, the Greenway's plantings and elevation provide a surprising amount of separation from traffic.

However, the biggest attraction for children is the ornate Carousel, a historic 1957 beauty.  Located more or less between Christopher Columbus Park (another good place to play) in the North End and the entrance to Quincy Market / Faneuil Hall Marketplace, the Carousel is a huge hit with children and their parents.  It's only seasonal - so be sure to check the Boston Event Calendar for May to find the date for Opening Day.  In 2013, a new custom carousel with a Boston theme and local animals (whales, barn owls, etc. ) instead of horses will take its place.

A third kid-friendly attraction is the giant splashing fountain, also near Christopher Columbus Park.  The fountain functions as a mini waterpark and draws raves from young fans.

 

Food trucks on Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway

Moving on to a serious topic . . . food! 

Despite plenty of places to eat along the Greenway (the North End, Faneuil Hall, Chinatown, Irish pubs, just to name a few), the lack of food supplies right on the Greenway has caused Bostonians angst . . . so we now have, drumroll please, Food Trucks!

And these are not just average food trucks, but gourmet food trucks.  Area chefs have gotten into the spirit of street food on wheels, and are using the trucks as mobil test kitchens.  You'll see them in other parts of Boston as well.  Look for grills, organic offerings, and ever-evolving menus. 

Fortunately, the Greenway has plenty of tables, chairs, and other seating.  Thanks to treats from the food trucks, as well as the North End and Faneuil Marketplace, some stretches of the Greenway are beginning to look like an outdoor restaurant.

Another terrific option for outdoor dining can be found a bit farther south by the Dewey Square section of the Greenway.  Tucked between the InterContinental Hotel Boston and the Federal Reserve building is James Hook (15 Atlantic Ave), sort of a hybrid between a clam shack and a lobster pound - a "hidden gem" in Downtown Boston.

Actually, what most people come here for are the lobster rolls, brimming with fresh, perfectly prepared lobster - and at $12 and $15, depending on the size, they're the best bargain in the city.   Enjoy your treat in the tiny seating area you see in the photo, or carry it across to the Greenway - the stretch of trees just beyond the green umbrellas.

 

A walking tour of the Rose Kennedy Greenway

This walking tour of the Greenway starts at the northern tip, sandwiched between TD Garden in Boston's West End, and the North End neighborhood.  Want to start at the southern end instead?  Just scroll up from directions from the Chinatown parks.

Here's a map to give you the big picture:

If you walk the length of the Rose Kennedy Greenway from the North End to Boston Chinatown, you'll discover four distinct park areas. Each celebrates the Boston neighborhood that it passes through and resonates with details about the city's history.

North End Park

The North End Park area of the Rose Kennedy Greenway stretches from New Sudbury Street past Hanover Street and almost all the way down to Christopher Columbus Park, reuniting the North End with Downtown Boston.

Numerous walkways link the 2 areas, so that you can easily cross back and forth - at the northern-most point, from TD Garden, and a big farther down, from Faneuil Market and Haymarket.

A 200 foot long, 50 ton steel pergola lines the grassy expanses of the North End Park, framing Boston Harbor on one side and expansive flower-filled plantings along the city side. 

As the magnolias, ash, and elm trees planted in this section grow larger, their flowers and foliage will add to the seasonal color.  Several varieties of magnolias already produce gorgeous pink, white, and even yellow blooms in April. 

Design elements feature lots of granite, echoing the favorite North End paving stone.  Some of the granite paving has a kind of wavy pattern - not so great if you're trying to walk on it, but it's supposed to evoke the nearby North End waterfront. 

Flat railings line the walkways near Hanover Street.  Take a closer look at their flat top surfaces - you can barely see them in this photo - and you'll see a fascinating Boston history timeline with quotes from North End residents. 

Plenty of benches provides places to sit and enjoy the views or read a book. When the weather is good, you'll see kids running and playing in the wide open spaces, parents with babies in strollers, and groups of friends enjoying the sun.

Tourists stroll across the Greenway as they follow the Freedom Trail between Faneuil Hall and the North End sites.

Photographers try for the perfect shot.  Recently, I've even spotted artists with easels capturing the views.

If you want to make a small detour for food, cross over to the North End along Hanover Street and pop into one of the nearby shops for a loaf of freshly baked bread, cheese, and olives for an impromptu picnic. 

Other worthwhile detours from this section include the granite monoliths and 6 glass towers of the moving Boston Holocaust Memorial, just to the west (toward Downtown) between Hanover and North Streets, and of course Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market.  You'll also find some of Boston's historic pubs in just outside of Quincy Market on Union Street.

To the east is Christopher Columbus Park, with its vine-covered arbors, the lovely Rose Kennedy Memorial Rose Garden, and a popular children's playground.

If you're lucky enough to stop by when the roses are in bloom (usually June), take a few moments and stroll through this special place, one of Boston's loveliest small public gardens.  You may even see a small wedding party posing for photos with the roses as a backdrop.

 

Wharf District Park

Continue walking south along the Rose Kennedy Greenway past Christopher Columbus Park, and you will be in the Wharf District Park along Boston's Downtown Waterfront.

In this section of the Greenway, you'll see plenty of design motifs representing Boston's maritime history, rocky coastline, and even ships bringing immigrants. 

Perhaps the most striking feature about this part of the Greenway isn't the Greenway itself, attractive as it is, but the access that it suddenly provides to the waterfront, Boston Harbor views, and Harborwalk along the water's edge.

Forward-thinking property developers have already built or refurbished waterfront hotels and restaurants in this area, and more eateries and new Boston nightlife spots open here all the time.

 

Dewey Square Area in the Rose Kennedy Greenway

Continuing south along the Greenway, you'll reach the Dewey Square area where the Greenway intersects with Summer Street. 

Grass and other plantings provide a pleasant oasis in an urban landscape.   A seasonal farmers' market takes place twice a week on the plaza in the Dewey Square area across from South Station.

 

Chinatown Park

Continue past Dewey Square, James Hook Lobster, the huge Federal Reserve Building, and South Station, and you'll reach the southern anchor of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the Chinatown Park.   Technically, it comprises 3-4 separate park areas, united thematically by Chinese motifs.

As you walk through the huge red gate, the straight path develops curves.   Continue strolling along the now-winding path, and you’ll forget that you’re in the middle of Boston. 

Tall ornamental grasses wave gently in the breeze, while bamboo rustles.  If you visit in late May or early June, you can enjoy the blooms of peonies and rhododendrons, plants ubiquitous in both China’s and Boston’s landscapes. 

In contrast to all of this undulating green, large red steel frames evoke bamboo scaffolding seen everywhere in China while echoing both the linear designs of adjacent buildings as well as the still-distant Chinatown Gate at Essex Street. 

Other elements such as a structure echoing the shape of the sail on a Chinese boat symbolize the passage of the Chinese to Boston.

You'll pass plenty of benches where you can sit quietly and read a book.

Turn another corner as the path bends, and you’ll first hear and then see water—a waterfall running into a pool and then a stream. 

Ahead, the path widens into a plaza facing the Chinatown Gate.

If you have children with you, they'll immediately spot the red-fenced playground just to the left of the gate. 

While they play on the swings, you can watch an on-going checker or mahjong game nearby, or join one of the groups of tai’ chi enthusiasts.

Of course, Chinatown offers its own array of tasty treats—plenty of wonderful restaurants where you can go for a delicious meal or dim sum.

Insider tips

Like so much of Boston, the Rose Kennedy Greenway is best enjoyed on foot.  You can easily reach from several subway stops - or just walk to it from anywhere in downtown Boston or the waterfront. 

If your memories of Boston include the Central Artery, you're in for a huge surprise when you visit now.

Before, if you wanted to walk along the Freedom Trail from Faneuil Hall Marketplace to Hanover Street in the North End, you had to pick your way through the grimy, trash-filled underbelly of the Central Artery with cars and trucks roaring over your head.

And who even knew that Boston had a downtown waterfront?

But now, you simply stroll across sun-drenched spaces, admiring the flowers overflowing the gardens along the way.  Of course you can see the city's buildings all around you, but what you'll notice most are the flowers and grass.

The Greenway, named in honor of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, beloved matriarch of the Boston family that produced the late President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and Senator Edward Kennedy, opened in late 2007.  Now, trees and lushly flowering plants transform the space.

If you haven't visited the city since the Central Artery disappeared from sight, you'll be astounded by how the Greenway has transformed this part of Boston.

If you're here in the spring, summer, or fall, the Greenway belongs on your list of Must Visit Boston sites.