Back Bay Fens

Sunset view of the Back Bay Fens in Boston

The Back Bay Fens is a marshy park in Boston, Massachusetts designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It is located in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, no longer in the official Back Bay neighborhood. When Boston was first settled it stood on a site that was connected to Roxbury by a spit of higher ground called "The Neck." The rest was filled with wetlands, both freshwater — the "Fens" — and salt marsh — the "Back" Bay.

Filling the Back Bay caused problems that a later generation might have dubbed "environmental:" sewage tainted the now stagnant wetlands. The creation of the park actually started as a precipitation-runoff and sewage-control project,

The fens of the Fenway were shaped and landscaped as parkland, along with the other open spaces that form the Emerald Necklace (or the half that was completed) envisaged by Frederick Law Olmsted, from 1878 to 1896. Olmsted and his collaborators managed to combine park design, civil engineering, public health, transportation, and neighborhood development, producing a comprehensive system that was one of the earliest examples in the United States of professional urban planning. Olmsted's student Arthur Shurcliff modified its design somewhat in the early 20th century to add recreation areas.

The fens begin where the Muddy River meets the Charles River, and then extend southward to Franklin Park. It includes shady, sloping lawns and benches for lounging and watching reeds rustle; rustic stone bridges for admiring the water and its avian inhabitants; a rose garden; a playground; a reserved area for local residents to have "community gardens"; and occasional impromptu performances by students of the Berklee College of Music or The Anonymous Bagpiper of The Fens. During World War II, the Back Bay Fens were a designated site for victory gardens.

The reeds provide a safe haven from prying eyes, and The Fens has gained a reputation as a nighttime rendezvous point for seekers of anonymous gay sex. The area is quite wholesome during the day, but can be unwelcoming at night.

Since 1912, the home of the Boston Red Sox has been only a few blocks away, at the aptly named Fenway Park.

The Fenway Civic Association works with public agencies to protect and improve the parkland, cut down vehicular traffic and preserve this link in Olmsted's "Emerald Necklace" of green open space.

External links

City of Boston official neighborhood website: click on Fenway-Kenmore
Fenway Victory Gardens

Categories: United States parks