Once the fountains were turned off in October, the Friends of the Park Avenue Medians (FOPAM) missed the lights and the community First Friday gathering that has become a popular neighborhood-wide monthly event. So, this December neighbors installed a lit “tree” in each of the two median fountains and hosted the first holiday tree lighting – with hot drinks for all.
Although it has been decades in the making, the city wants you to know that there is a planning process at work around future development of Druid Hill Park Lake, although no end date is yet in view.
Thanks mostly to neighborhood volunteers, Bolton Hill is a lush oasis, with street trees and parks forming a thick green canopy and well-planted and maintained planters and tree wells enhancing the streetscape. It is the collaboration and hard work of the park stewards, BHCA’s greening committee, the Bolton Hill Garden Club, the tree planting volunteers, the Midtown Benefits District, and residents that make Bolton Hill’s public spaces attractive and welcoming. The public spaces are there, year-around.
One of Bolton Hills’ older parks has undergone a new freshening, thanks to neighborhood volunteers. At the southern end of the neighborhood sits Contee-Parago Park. This small but beautiful park provides a cool oasis in the summer and a quiet space for contemplation year-round. Its history also exemplifies the can-do attitude of Bolton Hill residents.
The Bolton Hill Garden Club this month approved a record $11,300 in greening grants to create or improve publicly accessible green spaces and beautify the Bolton Hill community. This year the club opened eligibility to the Madison Park and Marble Hill neighborhoods. Eleven projects—a record number— will be funded throughout the area, including one in Madison Park.
Tucked quietly into Bolton Hill at Mosher and Mason streets is a space that holds deep meaning for many—Ana Maria’s Memorial Garden. Originally developed under the leadership of longtime resident Marcia Ribeiro, the garden was created in memory of her mother, Ana Maria Couto, who passed away too soon in 2016 from cancer. Ana Maria was a frequent visitor to Bolton Hill and grew to love its charming streets, pocket parks and the warmth of its residents.
A rite of spring in Bolton Hill, the Bolton Hill Garden Club’s spring plant sale will take place on Saturday, April 19. It will be in Fitzgerald Park (corner of Bolton and Wilson Streets), from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. It will feature for purchase annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and herbs – also available for pre-order on the BHGC website in the lead-up weeks.
It was a diminutive plaque, scarcely noticeable above the grass in a corner of the upper Park Avenue median. The buried block of concrete to which it was affixed had been dinged and gouged by the wear of roughly 90 years, but the tarnished plaque itself was very much intact.
A few years ago, our then-mayor was addressing the community association about her accomplishments. She proudly announced that she had spent $700,000 on trees. In conclusion, she asked if there were questions.
If your walks, jogs or drives take you through the 1600 and 1700 blocks of Park Ave., you’ve probably noticed some changes in the medians over the last couple of years.
