Franklin Street Park
Encyclopedia
Franklin Street Park
Franklin Street Park is a suburban park in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. The park is a house-sized lot in the Riverside neighborhood on 495 Franklin Street between Bay Street and Hancock Street.
The site that the park now inhabits used to be an unused area paved with concrete
. The site measured 4400 square feet (408.8 m²), which downsloped from the street into a dark and overgrown plot that had become a campsite for the homeless.
To improve this situation the Cambridge Community Development Department began renovations in 2002. These renovations had the stated goal of transforming the park into a small urban oasis.
The Cambridge Community Development Department finished renovations in 2003.
The American Society of Landscape Architects
in its national publication Landscape Architecture bestowed upon the park its "Editor's Choice" award in its July 2004 issue. They granted the award in part for the incorporation of sculpture
s in the park's design.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. The park is a house-sized lot in the Riverside neighborhood on 495 Franklin Street between Bay Street and Hancock Street.
History
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. The site measured 4400 square feet (408.8 m²), which downsloped from the street into a dark and overgrown plot that had become a campsite for the homeless.
To improve this situation the Cambridge Community Development Department began renovations in 2002. These renovations had the stated goal of transforming the park into a small urban oasis.
The Cambridge Community Development Department finished renovations in 2003.
Awards
American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association representing landscape architects, with more than 17,000 members in 48 chapters, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 42 countries around the world, plus 68 student chapters...
in its national publication Landscape Architecture bestowed upon the park its "Editor's Choice" award in its July 2004 issue. They granted the award in part for the incorporation of sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s in the park's design.