Boston City Hall Plaza Makeover: 100 Trees In, Granite Out

BOSTON —You either love it or you hate it, and let's be honest — you probably hate it. The Brutalist design of City Hall Plaza, widely considered one of the ugliest public spaces in the state, is about to get a bit of a sprucing up. Yes, the updated proposal includes actual trees and a more park-like setting. Be gone bricks.

The $70 million renovation includes taking some 22,500 feet of granite and brick paving and reusing it somewhere else or recycling it, according to the city.

The repairs and upgrades have been a long time coming. There will also be a bit of a renovation of the North Side entrance of City Hall. You'd be forgiven if you asked "What North Side entrance?" right about now. That entrance has been closed for the past 17 years.

The mayor's office on Tuesday released more details about what the plaza could look like after the renovation and touted increased accessibility, new civic spaces and environmental sustainability.

"Boston's City Hall Plaza is a space visited by thousands of Boston residents each and every day," said Mayor Marty Walsh in a statement. "This renovation will turn our seven-acre space into a welcoming, accessible space for all, featuring new civic spaces for events to areas for families to enjoy together. Creating a new People's Plaza will help us achieve our goals of making one of Boston's most-used public spaces better for all residents."

The seven-acre plaza is one of the Boston's largest civic spaces. For the last 50 years it has hosted events ranging from sports celebrations and rallies to seasonal cultural festivals. It was the birthplace of Boston Calling.

Sasaki, a global design firm, created the plaza design. Phase 1 of the project will connect Congress and Cambridge Streets with a sloped promenade with shady seating and gathering areas, a destination play space, public art space and a water feature.

Other highlights?

Some 3,000 "welcoming spaces" for residents to sit, 12,000 square feet of playscapes for children and families, and 11,000 square feet of terraces for pop-up play and interactive public art are planned. The renovation will include seven "plug-and-play" event areas for groups, with space for 10,000-12,0000 visitors on the main plaza and room for a 20,000-25,000 people across the entire plaza.

The new design will also include three smaller event and gathering places and a new civic building on Congress Street equipped with a bathroom and other facilities to support public gatherings.

Much of the bricks and granite will be replaced with something a bit more permeable in an effort to be mindful of stormwater issues. The design also includes 100 new trees. And some 50 lights will be replaced with LED technology.

The project builds off the "Rethink City Hall" report released in 2017. It resulted in a 30-year master plan to address repairs and to upgrade the 50-year-old City Hall and plaza. The study was led by the City's Public Facilities Department.

In July 2017, Walsh championed significant upgrades to City Hall's third-floor lobby, the main entrance to City Hall. Those upgrades included a new welcome desk, security enhancements, a coffee shop, an accessible and interactive self-service information kiosk capable of multiple language translations, new art installations and the replacement of interior lighting with energy-efficient LED lights.

Two years earlier, Boston welcomed a local coffee shop, Recreo, to City Hall.

Related:

Boston Winter Is Canceled; City Hall Plaza Set For Makeover

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).