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The Department of Conservation and Recreation is working with Bourne Consulting Engineers to restore the Esplanade's three granite overlooks at Commissioners, Dartmouth Street, and Gloucester Street Landings. This includes the restoration of granite steps, paving, balustrades, associated parkland, and related infrastructure. This project will also include the restoration of Storrow Memorial and the granite coping and multi-use path along Storrow Lagoon. DCR has allocated $1.6 million for work on Commissioners Landing, the first phase of the project.
Work on the landings commenced in the fall of 2006. Final restoration will begin in the fall of 2007, and is scheduled to last approximately one year. Restoring these landings was a top priority in the Master Plan for the Charles River Basin, and the process will be done in partnership with community groups and the general public, who will be involved in a series of public meetings in the coming months. TEA is committed to working with the DCR on this project and to helping raise the additional funds necessary to see it through to completion.
Schematic plans for the landings’ restoration are available on DCR’s website at www.mass.gov/dcr.
The three historic granite landings are the crown jewels of the Charles River Esplanade. These architectural treasures are in desperate need of prompt and careful restoration. Nominated by the Esplanade Association, the landings were selected for the Preservation Mass 2003 list of Ten Most Endangered Resources in the state. View the poster. [PDF, 216Kb]
Built in the 1930s, the three landings – Commissioners, Dartmouth
Street, and Gloucester Street – serve as overlooks, formal landings
for small boats, and popular gathering spots for people who want to be near
the water. Their intrinsic beauty shines through despite their deplorable
condition: broken stairs, missing face stones, gaping joints, disfiguring
stains. This rare and beautiful architecture cannot be duplicated today;
its loss would be 
a tragedy.
Boston landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff, best known for his work at Colonial Williamsburg, designed the three neo-classical granite landings as part of the 1930s widening of the parkland. To learn more about the Esplanade’s history, go to About the Park.
After decades of neglect, these magnificent neo-classical structures are literally collapsing into the river. Freeze and thaw cycles, mortar loss, inappropriate repairs, organic growth, and abuse have all contributed to the damage. Shifting and displacement of all the structural elements is accelerating at an alarming rate. These conditions are not only a preservation threat; they pose a serious public safety hazard.
The 2002 Charles River Basin Master Plan ranks the granite landings as “the highest priority on the preservation list.”
Preservationists, architects, and engineers have expressed their concern and willingness to help. More and more people are alarmed by the impending loss of these irreplaceable resources. One observer’s comment is typical: “The landings are so beautiful they have to be saved.”
The three landings are located between the Longfellow and Massachusetts Avenue Bridges, aligned with Pinckney, Dartmouth, and Gloucester Streets. The Commissioners and Gloucester Landings are directly on the river, and the Dartmouth Landing fronts on the lagoon. View a map. [PDF, 988Kb]
Immediate action is needed to save these treasures. At this moment, it would cost an estimated $1 million each to restore the landings and preserve them for future generations. As the months go by without action and the deterioration continues, restoration estimates will continue to rise.
Photo - Header ©2003 Jeryl Oristaglio. Other photos, in order of position: (1) Trinidad Rodriguez (2) Trinidad Rodriguez
The Esplanade Association
10 Derne Street
Boston, MA 02114
617.227.0365
