Project Details Page

synopsis

Columbia Road in Dorchester was proposed to extend five miles long and span 110 feet wide. Running from Marine Park to Franklin Park, Frederick Law Olmsted drew plans for the parkway in 1892. He envisioned the road to be a tree-lined parkway, 130 feet wide, acting as another connective element within the Emerald Necklace.

Columbia Road in Dorchester was proposed to extend five miles long and span 110 feet wide. Running from Marine Park to Franklin Park, Frederick Law Olmsted drew plans for the parkway in 1892. He envisioned the road to be a tree-lined parkway, 130 feet wide, acting as another connective element within the Emerald Necklace. Due to the fact that the parkway would be used primarily for “pleasure driving” Olmsted asked that a “restriction be put on the adjoining property…[to] prevent the erection of buildings directly upon the sidewalk line.” However, the City of Boston experienced legal pushback from the existing buildings when they attempted to acquire Columbia Road for park purposes. Thus, Olmsted’s 1897 plan only shows the design for a 2.3 mile stretch. The portion bordering the coast, referred to as the Strandway “was to be a beach-like shore from City Point around the head of Old Harbor.” The Olmsted Brothers approached the project years later in 1916, using the original 1892 plan as a guide for their proposed improvement. While the parkway was never completed, several efforts have continued to bring Olmsted’s vision to fruition to recreate a more park-like roadway connector through this neighborhood. [FLO & J.C. Olmsted to Charles E Stratton_1898-01-03_LOC-OAR-A-LB-im.10] [The Olmsted Brothers to D.J. Bryne_1916-02-28_OAR-B_00931-im.20]

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