So, that big Hockney-like montage I wrote about in my last post was just the beginning of a 15 year relationship with this piece of property and the incredible redemption story that is still going on. The first couple of years were taken up with acquiring all the existing buildings and properties, and gradually removing a century or more of industrial detritus. The fact that 3 cities shared the property was complication enough, but the Malden River was under control of the Army Corps of Engineers adding many more layers of permitting and bureaucracy. But, the buildings gradually came down and countless tons of debris were removed. Next came the restoration of the river edge. Hard hat divers worked for hundreds of hours cutting apart a huge sunken barge in almost total underwater darkness. Cranes lifted the massive, cut pieces of steel out of the river, while up and downstream heavy equipment tore out all the invasive species of plants and prepared it for restoration. Around this time Tufts University built a new boathouse on the site and moved their rowing program to the Malden River soon after.
Native vegetation was reintroduced and quickly took hold as Shadley Associates took over the design of the park and started in earnest to implement its creation. Remarkably, the developer’s vision was to build this beautiful park before building his first building. Many times in that period I would drive a big, orange JLG lift around the site on the weekends, rising to scary heights, hanging a tape measure over the side of the cage getting a measurement. This way I could simulate the view from each floor of the building that would eventually be there. Not knowing that business, I thought it was a pretty radical way of marketing; to use location,visuals, and outside amenities to sell a place in a building that wasn’t even built yet.
However, by the time the building was started, the entire park had reached a point of establishment that was down-right remarkable. When the first tenants moved in they were greeted with views of tree-lined pathways, rowers on the river and the giant weeping willow tree that was the only standing survivor of the prior years. I’ve seen many remarkable things there myself over the years; I started a bird list 5 or 6 years ago and am currently at 77 species. A pair of Bald Eagles flew up the river while I was eating lunch there in April. Last winter I saw a Fisher on the ice (with the skyline of Boston in the background). And, of course, at least one coyote is still around. It’s become a place that’s a pleasure to photograph; exceptional morning light, equally good afternoon light, and impeccable and unrelenting groundskeeping.....