Emerald Necklace Conservancy Opens New Visitor and Volunteer Center in the Back Bay Fens

For immediate release | January 19, 2011
Contact: Jeanine Knox | 617-522-2700 | jeanine@emeraldnecklace.org

Restoration of historic H. H. Richardson building in the Fens establishes a visitor center and permanent home for the Emerald Necklace Conservancy

Boston, MA - The Emerald Necklace Conservancy announces the opening of the new Emerald Necklace Visitor and Volunteer Center in the Back Bay Fens. At a groundbreaking ceremony in September, Conservancy President Julie Crockford was joined by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Conservancy Board members, community leaders, city officials and dozens of volunteers and park supporters. Crockford said of the historic Stony Brook Gatehouse prior to construction, "A once-forgotten gem will sparkle again." Today, the new Emerald Necklace Visitor and Volunteer Center, which houses the offices of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, is ready to welcome all.

The city of Boston searched for some way to restore the Stony Brook Gatehouse without ridding the building of its history. In 2002, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission refurbished the exterior and a new roof was installed. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy proposed to make the Gatehouse its new home, repurposing the building to create the first Emerald Necklace Visitor and Volunteer Center. Ann Beha Architects, led by project architect James Smith AIA, took on the challenge of transforming the pump house into a sustainable landmark. Located amidst the city's leading cultural, educational and medical institutions, the Visitor and Volunteer Center will become a gathering place for the community.

"Having a presence in the parks will give us the opportunity to interact with the public in new and exciting ways," says Crockford. "We will continue to program the parks, invite volunteers to join us, and welcome a new generation of park users to this historic landscape." The building will be a center for volunteers to come together for service projects, as well as a training ground for Emerald Necklace Docents and Interpretive Guides. It will be an access point into the Emerald Necklace park system, and act as an information center on all park activities, offering walking and biking tours, guide maps, interactive learning activities, and exhibits.

The Emerald Necklace Visitor and Volunteer Center is welcoming visitors Monday through Friday between 9 and 5. After Earth Day this April, weekend hours will be introduced as well. A series of open house events will be held in February. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony in the spring along with other community activities to celebrate the opening of the center.

The historic Stony Brook Gatehouse was designed by H. H. Richardson as part of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace park system. Linked to the already established green spaces of the Boston Common, Public Garden and Commonwealth Avenue Mall, Olmsted's Necklace runs from the Back Bay Fens to Franklin Park, connecting a dozen neighborhoods in Brookline and Boston. The Gatehouse was built in the 1870s to regulate storm water into the Fens. After it was decommissioned in the 1970's, the Gatehouse withstood deterioration, graffiti and neglect.

Outside, the old Gatehouse maintains much of its original appearance, save for a sign bearing the Emerald Necklace Conservancy logo and an accessible ramp at the entryway. Inside, the building is a modern architectural marvel, featuring high open ceilings and a movable glass wall, which opens into a conference room that can accommodate several dozen people. "This adaptation of a historic building is the ultimate in sustainability," says Crockford. "We used recycled materials and constructed the adaption in as green friendly a way as possible. We think the original architect, H. H. Richardson, who was the architect for Trinity Church and so many other American landmarks, would be pleased with the restoration."

With the help of generous donations from many organizations including the Justine Mee Liff Fund, Jane's Trust, the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation, the Yawkey Foundation, the Plimpton-Shattuck Fund, the Edwin S. Webster Foundation, the Carolyn and Peter Lynch Foundation, the 1772 Foundation, and several anonymous donors, the Conservancy reached its $1.2 million goal for the construction of the new Visitor and Volunteer Center. Additionally, the Conservancy is continuing its fundraising campaign to raise $270,000 for interpretation and signage in the Back Bay Fens and throughout the Emerald Necklace park system.

Crockford says that moving into the Fens and opening up a visitor's center marks a new era in the Conservancy's twelve years of service. "Our ability to steward the parks will increase as the public will gain even more confidence in us and join our efforts to advocate for, preserve, restore and program these parks."

Press release prepared by Emily Muldoon, communications intern.

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The Emerald Necklace Conservancy was incorporated in 1998 to "protect, restore, maintain and promote the landscape, waterways and parkways of the Emerald Necklace park system as special places for people to visit and enjoy." In the face of persistent city and budget constraints, the Conservancy was founded to address issues of constituency-building, advocacy, public education, restoration, maintenance and stewardship. The Conservancy is a not-for-profit public-private partnership that brings together the park owners (the public entities), parks' neighbors and citizen groups; and business and institutional leaders to work for the renewal of the Emerald Necklace and its long-term preservation.