The Arnold Arboretum is pleased to announce a significant milestone in expanding access to its landscape for the community. On Saturday, July 19, Mayor Wu, elected officials, and administrators from the City of Boston joined Arnold Arboretum Director William (Ned) Friedman for a Block Party on Arboretum Road to celebrate the opening of the Arboretum’s newest entrance at Arboretum Road in Roslindale. Construction began in summer 2023, funded by the City of Boston as part of the Roslindale Gateway Path project, which promotes alternative transportation options between Forest Hills and Roslindale Square MBTA stations for neighbors and commuters.
“Nothing can get done like this without teamwork,” said Arboretum Director William (Ned) Friedman in welcoming neighbors and visitors to the block party. “We all knew what the vision was, we all knew it was going to be a process, but we all also believe in equitable access to public spaces.”
The new entrance utilizes a restored MBTA Commuter Rail underpass at the end of Arboretum Road, creating a safe and more accessible portal into the Arboretum. Visitors can now follow the newly constructed Tupelo Path to connect with the Blackwell Footpath in Bussey Brook Meadow and continue on to the Arboretum’s historic landscape via the South Street Gate. The Arboretum will fund the ongoing horticultural development and maintenance of both the Arboretum Road entrance and Tupelo Path going forward.
“We’re standing here with a beautiful new entrance into one of the most important treasures in the entire world when it comes to nature and green space,” Mayor Wu said in her remarks at the event. “The Arboretum is a living history of trees, founded by the City of Boston and Harvard University to be the place where—no matter what is happening in any other part of the world—we are going to make sure that we are growing, that we are investing, that we are planting the seeds.”
The new entrance at Arboretum Road opens the northern portion of the Arboretum to thousands of Roslindale residents along the Washington Street corridor and its surrounding neighborhoods. The project also complements the Arboretum’s Entrance Improvement Project, which prioritizes renewing the landscape’s entrances near environmental justice neighborhoods and health care facilities to ensure a safe, welcoming experience for all.
Like the creation of the entrance itself, the block party held on July 19 was a group effort celebrating the shared commitment of community partners to envisioning a better Boston. Organized and presented by the Arboretum’s Public Programs team, the Archdale Village community, and the City of Boston, the event included official remarks and a community ribbon cutting, free pizza and ice cream, face-painting, balloon animals, bubble making and science games by the Inventor Mentor, and plant displays from the Arboretum’s collections. Dancers from OrigiNation entertained the crowds, and information tables featured representatives from the Arboretum Park Conservancy, Friends of the Library, Menino Community Center, PowerCorps Boston, Livable Streets Alliance, WalkUP Roslindale, and the Trust for Public Land.