By Katie Koenig
Large trees, reaching branches, the wind whistling over the Charles River, even the cars bustling across the park—I’m not the only person to love taking walks down the Esplanade. It’s a gorgeous space even in winter when the water freezes over and trees carry snow like they’re grocery bags after a shopping trip for the entire week for their family of five (plus a dog).
I’ve never put much thought into why and how the Esplanade was created, though. A quick google search of its history results in the Esplanade Association site. It explains the long stewardship of the Quinobequin River, which you most likely know as the Charles River, by the Massachusett, Nipmuc, and Wampanoag people.
The 64 acres that make up the conservation space we now know as the Esplanade were left undeveloped until well after European colonizers had violently displaced local populations and colonial settlements had developed into a larger urban area. Around the late 1800s, the Back Bay area had started filling with sewage and waste.
There was a constant concern at the time of disease outbreaks, partly spurred by the three separate cholera pandemics throughout the 1800s. In response to wealthy, particularly white, residents’ concerns about the source of these diseases being the increasing immigrant population, composed mostly of Irish immigrants, Back Bay was drained and filled in to build upper class housing as they moved away from the main centers of Boston. In addition, Frederick Law Olmsted created ‘Charlesbank’ which included the first free, outdoor playground (for all ages!) to improve people’s general health in the area.
In 1910, to stop the tide from revealing the mass amounts of sewage, believed to be another source of disease, the city dammed the Charles River basin. By 1940, the park had almost doubled in size, with added waterways and walkways built into the river to make up for the lost land from the city creeping closer to the shoreline.
In 2001, however, local community members saw the declining Esplanade and formed the Esplanade Association in order to restore the park’s land. With a focus on revitalization and conservation, the Association began developing new attractions and locations for the park. They’ve rebuilt the boat docks, implemented new fountains, and even created a climate action plan starting in June of 2024.
The Esplanade Association emphasizes not just climate action and a carbon neutrality goal for 2030, but also a climate conscious stewardship of the land, and doing outreach and recreational programs. Of their multiple green projects, they’ve implemented tree planting and diversification projects, and even introduced pollinator habitats in the park.
Some current issues the Esplanade faces, along with the rest of Boston and even the rest of the world, are rising sea levels, increased temperatures, and changes in precipitation. Adapting and adjusting their plan each year allows them to better address these problems in such a changing environment, with a particular focus on community leadership and action.
The action plan report for 2024 is long and very detailed, but includes a lot more specific information if you’re interested in the extended history of the Association and its current goals and priorities for the Esplanade.