Waterfront Delights

The very best part of the new Rose Fitzgerald Greenway in Boston is the ring fountain across from Fanuil Hall Marketplace. The water shoots up in patterns from the pavement and I never once saw that space empty. Terry took me along for his four day Americorps conference at the Marriot, adjacent to New England Aquarium, and located on Long Wharf on the redeveloped waterfront.

It was one of the hottest weeks of the summer and from noon 'til after dark there were people playing in the fountain. It's designed for play, with the water shifting in height and design making it a challenge to run through without getting wet. But everyone wanted to get wet, because of the weather. Moms and Dads sat on the stone benches making up the outer ring where the mist occasionally drifted, while kids of all ages scampered about trying to predict where the next spurt of water would shoot. Toddlers crawled looking totally startled by the water behaving in ways they'd never seen, while older children tried placing empty drink containers over the holes to see how far they'd rise when the water shot up. Sometimes, the calls of ,”Come on, Dad...come in,” were answered and a grown up joined the splashing crowd. This isn't the only fountain scattered around this part of the city, but it's the most popular one. Tourists in town for a week, Moms with strollers from the high-rise apartments nearby, and residents who brought their towels on the T from other sections of the city all come to enjoy this treat—better than an open fire hydrant and much safer too. At night we watched the fountain light up from below and the colored light sections shifting from red to purple to blue then green on the two-story tall sculptured posts nearby. A few kids still danced in the fountain, but left as a couple of the local homeless men came to cool off and wash away the day's grime.

This was my second trip in three years and over and over again I'm amazed that this part of the city charms me every time. I spent a day wandering the narrow streets of the North End looking into windows of restaurants with 8 tables, and window boxes full of flowers. Trying to get a straight picture on streets that never are straight is an interesting challenge.

The wharf itself looked best at sunset, with boats moored in the harbor and more along the marina.

I even found the littlest houseboat I'd ever seen—obviously custom made for someone's dog.

Parts of this part of town haven't changed in a hundred years or more, but missing now is the old central artery which bisected the waterfront from the rest of walkable Boston downtown for so many years. Gone is the noise and exhaust of so many vehicles. It's all been sent underground and now a visitor can happily walk from the water all the way to the Statehouse, along crooked streets, past historic landmarks and new steel towers, and somehow it all seems to work. I know the Big Dig wasted tons of my tax money along the way, and made the wrong people rich, but I can't help but be happy with the end result when I get a chance to go. It's the designers I really credit, for they knew how the space would be used down the road, and I and the fountain-loving children bless them for their foresight.