White Stadium, which sits in one of the most active areas of Franklin Park, has been neglected by the city of Boston for decades. When City Hall stopped caring about our park, neighbors cleaned it up ourselves. We cared for the park when others saw only decay.
Now, as our city is being rejuvenated, some see Franklin Park as an opportunity for profit. But we will continue to protect it. Designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Franklin Park is the centerpiece of Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace and is truly a work of art.
It is revered in the same way as Olmsted’s Central Park in New York and the grounds of the US Capitol in Washington. Franklin Park is also on the National Register of Historic Places, alongside the Lexington Battle Green and the North Bridge in Concord. Amid Boston’s crowded city streets, the park is our oasis.
It’s where families come for picnics and games of catch. We come for summer festivals or to visit the zoo. We jump rope, play tennis and basketball, or learn to ride a bike.
We visit with longtime neighbors, make new friends, or take a nap on a blanket in the sun. The Massachusetts Constitution protects open spaces like Franklin Park from the kind of private development recently proposed by a group of for-profit sports investors who want to make White Stadium the home of a National Women’s Soccer League team. The project is being fast-tracked , ignoring state environmental laws and community concerns.
The Franklin Park Defenders.