Piers Park

The bulldozers and Wood Island Park East Boston has shared an uneasy relationship with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) since the first iteration of Boston's Logan Airport opened at then Jeffries Field in 1923. The relationship has been actively litigious since the 1960s, when the agency took control of a parcel of land at the northwest side of the expanding airfield, a parcel that included Frederick Law Olmsted's 46-acre Wood Island Park. Designed by Olmsted and opened in 1898, Wood Island Park was a mature, 46-acre park with an extensive slice of harbor waterfront, accessed by a tall parkway avenue of elm trees. The park was a recreational area for a neighborhood with, "fewer park and recreation facilities than other neighborhood in the city." The decision was made for it to be "taken" in 1969 to make way for expansion of Runway 15R/33L at Logan. "In one day Wood Island Park was graded to the level of the existing runway.". MassPort's promise—finally implemented In 1966, under direction from then governor John Volpe, MassPort had made a commitment to replace the recreational facilities that would be lost to the sacrifice of the Olmsted park. By 1975, Massport had again expanded the airport, consuming the Bird Island tidal area, Edith deAngelis, starting as president of the East Boston Recreation, Master Planning, Land Use Advisory Council in the late 1960s, was a 'key activist' in developing a masterplan for future development through this period. "The politicians weren't helping us," DeAngelis is quoted as saying. "They sold us down the river. So, we had to do it ourselves." DeAngeles and other neighborhood advocates ultimately proposed the transformation of Massport's three derelict piers, an 11-acre site that included the condemned building that had once served as the historic East Boston Immigration Station, for the new park. After much negotiation, MassPort agreed to cede a 6.5-acre parcel toward the site's west end for what has become known as phase I of the park. It was this area that was opened to the public in 1995, and would be known as Piers Park for the next two decades. Phase II opened to the public in December 2023. A further 3.8-acre site, Piers Park Phase III, would expand the existing Piers Park onto the westward pier along the waterfront off of Marginal Street. Test borings were initiated in March 2020 to quantify the footing challenges and industrial pollution at the site. Several local companies contributed funding, including Converse, Liberty Mutual, State Street Corporation, MassMutual, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. == Description ==

Landside Park The existing Piers Park (phase I site) consists of multiple trails paved in brick and granite from the shore's original 1870 seawalls; native salt-tolerant New England plants; more than thirty-two tree varieties; seasonal flowers; ornamental shrubs; and a 600-foot meandering brick pedestrian promenade. There is a play area and spray pool for children; a small exercise station; a grassy amphitheater for small outdoor concerts and performances. The Pier The rebuilt pier juts out into the harbor from the seaside gardened base. It is lined with ornate, Victorian-style lampposts, and the original seawalls have been maintained. Pavilions There are four small shade pavilions, two to each side of the pier. The pavilion at the head of the pier is dedicated to ship-builder Donald McKay; the central pavilion is the Commons Pavilion, commissioned by MassPort to "pay tribute to the neighborhood's immigrant history," with twenty four granite panels by local artist William Reimann. Sailing Center Main article: Piers Park Sailing Center The Piers Park Sailing Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit sailing organization and community boating program. The center retains the site through an extended $1 lease from MassPort, who also donated the sailing center's fleet of ten 23-foot Sonar keelboats. It runs a variety of adult, youth, and adaptive programs. ==References==