Blue Hills Parkway

	Blue Hills Parkway
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
Location	Milton and Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°15′21″N 71°5′38″W / 42.25583°N 71.09389°W / 42.25583; -71.09389
Area	12 acres (4.9 ha)
Built	1893
Architect	Charles Eliot
MPS	Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston MPS
NRHP reference No.	03000574
Added to NRHP	June 23, 2003

Blue Hills Parkway is a historic parkway that runs in a straight line from a crossing of the Neponset River, at the south border of Boston to the north edge of the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Massachusetts. It was built in 1893 to a design by the noted landscape architect, Charles Eliot, who is perhaps best known for the esplanades along the Charles River. The parkway is a connecting road between the Blue Hills Reservation and the Neponset River Reservation,^[2] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.^[1]

The parkway's northern terminus is a six-way intersection in southern Mattapan, a neighborhood in the far south of Boston. The junction includes River Street (which passes through the intersection), Cummins Highway, Blue Hill Avenue, and the access road for the Mattapan MBTA station. Both Blue Hill Avenue and the parkway are designated Massachusetts Route 28 at this intersection. The parkway almost immediately crosses the Neponset River and then into Milton. Brush Hill Road branches west, and Blue Hill Avenue branches to the southwest (designated Massachusetts Route 138), and a short distance later Brook Road carries the Route 28 designation off to the east. It passes through a residential area, crosses Pine Tree Brook, and soon reaches its southern terminus, a rotary intersection (this is not a rotary any longer, it is a regular 4-way intersection with overhead stoplights as of at least 2015) with Canton Street and Unquity Road (the latter being listed as part of the Blue Hills Reservation Parkways). The parkway is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.^[2]

The parkway was laid out in 1894, and was one of the first connecting parkways designed by Eliot and the Olmsted Brothers. Land acquisition began in 1896, and construction took place in 1898. The Neponset River bridge was built 1901-03 Its major features include the Neponset River bridge, a granite-faced triple arch structure carrying six lanes of traffic. The complex of junctions on the south side is landscaped with a series of median islands and miters. The roadway is eight lanes in this area, allowing for turning lanes, and there is a c. 1823 granite mile marker in the grassy area on the west side of the roadway. South of the Truman Parkway interchange the road becomes six lanes, which reduce to five (two south and three north) after the Brook Road junction. The roadway for the southern stretch is canopied by trees that line the center median strip and the sides.^[2]

References

^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
^ a b c "NRHP nomination for Blue Hills Parkway". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved May 23, 2014.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.

[NRHP-2] "NRHP nomination for Blue Hills Parkway". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved May 23, 2014.

v t e Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
Coastal reservations	Belle Isle Marsh Boston Harbor Islands Castle Island Dorchester Shores Fort Revere Lynn Shore Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Webb Memorial Weymouth Back River
River reservations	Alewife Brook Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Elm Bank Hemlock Gorge Mystic River Neponset River Pope John Paul II Squantum Point Park Upper Charles River
Woodland reservations	Beaver Brook Blue Hills Breakheart Hammond Pond Middlesex Fells Quincy Quarries Southwest Corridor Stony Brook Wilson Mountain
Heritage state parks	Lynn Roxbury
Parkways and roads	Alewife Brook Arborway Blue Hills Blue Hills Reservation Charles River Reservation Day Boulevard Fellsway Fellsway East Fellsway West Fenway Fresh Pond Furnace Brook Hamond Pond Hull Shore Drive Jamaicaway Lynn Fells Lynnway Memorial Drive Morrissey Boulevard Mystic Valley Nahant Beach Boulevard Nantasket Avenue Park Drive Quincy Shore Drive Revere Beach Riverway Soldiers Field Road Stony Brook Storrow Drive Truman VFW West Roxbury Winthrop Winthrop Shore Drive
Department of Conservation and Recreation Greater Boston List of Massachusetts State Parks

v t e Streets and squares in Boston
East–west streets	Beacon Street Boylston Street Commonwealth Avenue Congress Street Court Street Day Boulevard Dedham Parkway Fenway Gallivan Boulevard Huntington Avenue Melnea Cass Boulevard Milk Street Neptune Road New Chardon Street Newbury Street Park Street Soldiers Field Road State Street Storrow Drive Summer Street Tremont Street Winter Street
North–south streets	Arborway Atlantic Avenue Blue Hills Parkway Bowdoin Street Brattle Street Brookline Avenue Charles Street Columbus Avenue Dorchester Avenue Enneking Parkway Federal Street Franklin Street Hanover Street Jamaicaway Jersey Street (Yawkey Way) Massachusetts Avenue Morrissey Boulevard Morton Street North Street Park Drive Riverway School Street Truman Parkway Turtle Pond Parkway Union Street Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway Washington Street West Boundary Road West Roxbury Parkway
Intersections	Adams Square Andrew Square Blackstone Square Brigham Circle Central Square Chester Square City Square Cleveland Circle Codman Square Copley Square Day Square Dewey Square Dock Square Downtown Crossing Egleston Square Fields Corner Franklin Square Haymarket Square Hyde Square Jackson Square Kenmore Square Louisburg Square Mass and Cass Maverick Square Nubian Square (Dudley Square) Packard's Corner Park Square Peabody Square Post Office Square Roxbury Crossing Scollay Square Sullivan Square Thompson Square Union Square Uphams Corner Winthrop Square
Italics denote streets and squares that no longer exist. See also Neighborhoods in Boston Transportation in Boston

Blue Hills Parkway

See also

References