The public got a look at the latest proposal for the long-gestating plan to expand and redevelop of the Tadpole Playground on the Boston Common at a third city-sponsored meeting on the matter held virtually Monday, March 16.
The proposal calls for the expansion of the children’s playground, located in the center of the Common and last renovated in 2002, into the full ‘lawn panel,’ said Cassie Bethoney of Weston & Sampson, a local engineering and environmental firm.
(Before the Common was established in 1634, the ‘lawn panel’ was known to be used by indigenous people for hunting and collecting food, Bethoney noted, so the project team duly met with members of the Massachusett tribe over the winter to solicit their input and feedback on the current concept design.)
Proposed playground elements, said Regan Andreola, a Weston & Sampson senior project manager, include a ‘Story Circle,’ adorned with plantings, which will offer a place of respite away from activity; accessible playground equipment for 5- to 12-year-olds, with a life-sized fish-weir-inspired ball run and zipline, as well as bridge and treehouse structures; and playground equipment for 2- 5-year olds, including a ‘universal carousel,’ as well as a smaller fish-weir-inspired ball-run with a less-steep topography.
An ADA-accessible path will traverse the playground, noted Andreola, making the site more welcoming to visitors of all abilities.
The latest concept design designates two interior areas for stroller parking and also offers a range of options for formal seating (such as café tables and benches with ADA-companion seating) and informal seating (including a seat wall and sloped seating), added Andreola, while a “simple” picket fence with granite posts will enclose the expanded playground footprint for safety reasons.
The ADA-accessible entrance to the playground will be maintained across from the Frog Pond, said Andreola, and an existing shade tree located in the middle of the playground will also be preserved, with a ‘circulation area’ created surrounding it.
“I know there’s a lot of love for that tree,” Andreola acknowledged.
The playground’s signature bronze frog sculptures will also remain and be reused at different spots around the playground.
“You’re going to have to wait and see where they pop back up,” said Kevin Bogle, senior project manager for the Boston Parks Department.
Bogle also offered reassurance that regular visitors to the park would receive ample notice ahead of its temporary closure for renovations.
“We don’t want you to show up one day and have a closed park,” added Bogle. “That’s no good.”
Meanwhile, the need to renovate the Tadpole Playground came out of the city’s Boston Common Master Plan, released in 2023, noted Bethoney
A first community meeting on the proposed playground renovation was held virtually in October 2023, while a second community meeting was held virtually the following June.
The concept design has gone through some 26 different iterations, evolving in response to feedback from not only the community but also from students attending the nearby Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Chinatown.
Drawings for the concept design are expected to be finalized before the end of this year, said Bethoney, before the project goes out to bid.
Construction is slated to get underway at this time next year, added Bethoney, with the expanded and renovated Tadpole Playground on target to reopen next fall.