Project Summary
The Edward Everett Square Project is a ten-year community effort by Dorchester citizens and concerned neighbors to transform a major Boston intersection from a traffic-dominated streetscape, hazardous to pedestrians and devoid of aesthetics, to a cultural crossroads, safe for foot traffic and ambient in art and local history.
History
The effort began in 1995 as a necessary collaboration among local civic associations to address the neglected and dangerous nature of the once important and historically significant Square. In subsequent years the Committee successfully applied to the City of Boston Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund Commission for grants that have funded design concept ($10,000, completed 1999) and landscape and art ($150,000 granted in 2000).
Donations and other fiscal transactions are managed through the Committee’s 501c3 fiscal partner, the Dorchester Historical Society. In 2003, with support from community organizations, businesses and elected officials, the Committee successfully enjoined the City of Boston to provide public works capital funding to redesign and renovate Edward Everett Square with improved traffic calming, traffic and pedestrian safety, green space, and the physical context for prominent public art and pedestrian enjoyment.
Current
In 2006 public art sculpture and public works construction both got under way. Public works construction is 65% substantially complete at the end of 2006. In April 2007 Bricklayers Union Local 3 will contribute brickwork detail, and by June art will be installed.
Future Plans
Beyond the completion of the current phase in June 2007, the community plans to further enhance and improve the intersection by relocating existing statuary from periphery and unsafe Locations near the Square. Integration of the Copenhagen Fountain and Edward Everett Statue into the Square as components of a balanced and unified art and landscape configuration will create greater visual harmony, balance and significance to the Square, as well as provide more safe and prominent locations for these important and enduring existing sculptures.
While this process has been arduous, citizen participation in the improvement of Edward Everett Square offers a new model for civic reclamation of city neighborhoods. The transformation of Edward Everett Square’s traffic safety and streetscape design, coupled with new public art that celebrates unique community history and enduring values, will create an improved visibility to this historic and geographically significant intersection. Through their efforts, the residents of Dorchester are reclaiming ownership over the new Edward Everett Square and thereby making it possible for others to positively experience this vital Dorchester gateway.