This Stunning Green Scene In The Heart Of Boston Is Massachusetts' Urban Reprieve With Public Art And Gardens

For Bostonians over 25, the Rose Kennedy Fitzgerald Greenway represents the greatest makeover ever. Prior to 2004, the only scenic thing along Atlantic Avenue was the garish, elevated Central Artery highway that had cut through central Boston since 1959. Its deterioration and congestion over the decades eventually led to the "Big Dig," which tore down the road and built a new one underground. While the nearly 15 years of construction caused considerable headaches, the results made each temple throb worth it. Not only did the project remove the traffic noise, exhaust fumes, and industrial eyesores, it also replaced the highway with a beautiful greenway full of public art and gardens.

Named after President Kennedy's mother, the Rose Kennedy Fitzgerald Greenway now serves as one of Boston's favorite community hubs. Along the 17-acre park — forming a crescent between Haymarket and Chinatown — are ample opportunities for fun and frolic, with green grass, public art, a carousel, fountains, a beer garden, food trucks, and more. In warmer months, the greenway also becomes an events center, with around 400 free ones each year, including fitness classes, festivals, and markets. The greenway's location helps bring the crowds, too, as it forms a nexus between Boston sights like Quincy Market, the North End, and Long and Central wharfs. Anyone seeking a bit more peace can simply keep going south, where the crowds start to lighten, or head over to America's oldest public park, Boston Common, just a few blocks west of the greenway's southern tip. 

Most visitors to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway enter at the bow of the crescent, located on the backside of Quincy Market and adjacent to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, Long Wharf, and the New England Aquarium, with unforgettable marine life. This is also where multiple ferries arrive and depart, including to the serene Spectacle Island, where you can swim and hike in natural beauty. For many, the first sight is the Greenway Carousel. Vintage in style, it features hand-carved animals native to the Shawmut Peninsula — peregrine falcons, lobsters, seals, turtles, and grasshoppers, among others. Food trucks are also parked here if you want a quick bite. Head north from here and pass the Labyrinth Fountain, Greenwood Beehives, Boxwood Gardens, and public art installations like "Going to Ground," which pays tribute to the first Black woman known to own a home in Boston.

Go south from the carousel and find many more highlights. These include a large sculpture of golden bamboo hoop earrings by Ja'Hari Ortega and the technicolor mural "Your Spirit Whispering in my Ear." Several gardens lie on the path, too. The Tree Snag garden educates on the role standing deadwood plays in the ecosystem, and the Carolyn Lynch Garden bursts with colorful seasonal blooms. Here, two beer gardens pour local ales by Night Shift and Trillium breweries in the warmer months. There are also two fountains in this area: Chinatown Stream, featuring a cascading waterfall and bamboo walkway, and Harbor Fog Sculpture, with motion sensors that respond with different patterns of mist and light.