Dewey Square Parks

The once depressed stretch between Oliver and Summer streets along Atlantic Avenue in Boston’s Financial District is blossoming into the place to go for those looking for a green-space respite from the concrete and asphalt that once dominated the landscape near South Station.

Part of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy’s downtown revitalization project that kicked off in 2008, Dewey Square Parks is an interconnecting series of gardens, lawn areas and pathways that has become a horticultural hotbed of ornamental and edible plants, including herbs, sunflowers and lavender. In addition to bringing in thousands of South Station commuters through a sea of green, the parks boast urban markets, performance spaces and art installations that reflect the four seasons.

This summer, Dewey Square Plaza across from South Station is showcasing a weekly lunchtime concert series featuring a slew of up-and-coming local musicians every Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. until Tuesday, Aug. 24. Bands are set up in a tent on the lawn and revelers gather on blankets and tables set up in front of the jam session. It’s interesting to hear the drums and vocals ricochet against the Financial District buildings in this transforming part of town.
 

Last year, organizers unveiled the Boston Public Farmers' Market at Dewey Square that reopened in May and is slotted to serve organic produce, fresh-cut flowers, homemade pastas and other regional-inspired goodies from 11:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays until Nov. 23.

The Boston Public Market Association (BPMA) has been holding seasonal markets since 2009 and has a goal of establishing a year-round permanent marketplace in Boston that offers local agricultural products to folks in the Leather District, Fort Point and Chinatown neighborhoods.

Don Wiest, chair of the BPMA, says there's an emphasis on locally grown produce from small farms in Massachusetts, along with regional specialty food products."Shoppers at the market will get to make a personal connection with their food provider, learning where it's from, how it's grown and who grew it," Wiest said.

HelloMetro Tip: Boston has more than 20 seasonal, open-air farmers' markets. Two of the more popular venues include Copley Square and City Hall. The BPMA plans to keep the market in Dewey Square Plaza open on a year-round basis and not just seasonal, a tradition that was commonplace in Boston as far back as the 1800s.

- by Sam Baltrusis, Boston Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Sam Baltrusis

Sam Baltrusis has worked for WHDH.com, Spike-TV, VH1, Independent News, Seventeen, Newsweek, and as a regional stringer for The New York Times. He's currently a full-time freelance editor and writer in Boston, where he's an instructor for Mediabistro.com and contributes to various regional publications including Boston Spirit Magazine. Sam also publishes a successful pop culture site, LoadedGunBoston.com, and was recently featured on WCVB-TV's "Chronicle" and Boston's NPR affiliate WBUR.