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Franklin Park
Categories: Active Life Hiking Active Life Parks Active Life Golf Active Life Playgrounds Hiking, Parks, Golf, Playgrounds [Edit]
1 Franklin Park RdDorchester, MA 02121
Neighborhood: Mattapan
- Nearest Transit:
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Blue Hill Ave Opp Columbia Rd (14, 22, 28, 29, 45)
Columbia Rd. @ Blue Hill Ave (16)
Franklin Park Zoo @ Entrance (16, 32, 34, 36, 38, 45)
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
13 reviews for Franklin Park
13 reviews in English
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Review from Kim P.
7/17/2011
Go here if you need to convince yourself that Black people--and other folks of color--care about fitness. I have started running here more frequently because it's a nice way to get in my long runs around some pretty scenery. Also, it's empowering to be running/walking/renewing with so many people of color. I run on the early side, and people are always friendly and supportive.
Added bonuses: the sidewalks are uneven, so there are few strollers--a great alternative to the rage I can feel while running around the pond in JP; you can also step into the Clubhouse if you have to use the bathrooms and they won't hassle you.
One loop around=2.2 miles. -
Review from Khan A.
Newton, MA
6/8/2011 5 photos
this is one of my favorite parks in MA. Very beautiful. We went there with my friend and spend walking like 3 hours and didn't get tired. It's so awesome you just walk and enjoy beauty and can't stop :) There's no words for me to describe how nice this place is. So peaceful.
This park is huge and has wonderful small road that goes into the wood. I love the small roads with stones on side. Love that.
And there's one more good thing especially for families with kids: they have bathrooms and water on roads. It's fantastic!
There's always a tour that runs during the summer. So if you are interesting in historic then it's a good opportunity.
Lot's of other people there having a good time so the atmosphere was great.
Parking can be a challenging.
I guarantee that in one visit you will be in love with this place and it will become your favorite place in Boston. -
Review from Alyssa J P.
Brighton, MA
12/4/2010
This park is seriously huge, and I haven't really spent much time in it, but I think it would be cool to explore some day. All the time I've spent here so far is during the BAA Half Marathon, which I've run 4 times. It spends a decent amount of mileage in Franklin Park so I feel like I've seen the park even though I'm sure I haven't seen much.
There's a lot to do here, there's a zoo and golf course, so whatever you're into I'm sure you'll find it. -
Review from Kerri O.
10/8/2008
I used to live a block or so from here.
Aside from the gorilla breaking out of the zoo, and scaring folks on Warren Street, it was a great place.
Actually, I'm going to amend this. The Gorilla wasn't very scary. He was mostly confused and scared, himself. I felt sorry for him. In Roxbury, a Gorilla isn't what you get scared of. He was just out of place.
So what is Great about Franklin Park? Over 500 acres of space in an urban area. Living a block or so from the park, I often woke up to seeing foxes in my back yard.
A Cookout or Picnic was 5 minutes away.
What's bad is it's horrible Zoo, lack of funding, lack of Policing, and abundance of syringes littering the playing fields, and places where kids could play.
Now, this sort of thing is common in Central Park. You live with that, along with the Rats. I just hope we can to better than that, in Boston.
Franklin Park was designed to be the Jewel of FL Olmstead's Emerald Necklace. It's still all there, though a Jewel in the rough, now.
I'd love to see a real reclamation project started here. -
Review from Alex S.
Brooklyn, NY
9/4/2008
The good news is you're totally not going to get killed. No, seriously. Every time I mention frequenting Franklin Park, someone seems to imply that I'm taking my life in my hands. The truth is, the Franklin Park Coalition is making great improvements, and the park has become, on the whole, a pleasant, welcoming space. While it's not perfect, it is a lot safer, a lot cleaner, and a lot more beautiful than its rather negative reputation would have you believe.
There are some sections of the park that just don't interest me, like the golf course or that retched zoo, but Franklin Park is vast, and there is plenty of wonderful greenery, old building ruins, and wilderness to explore and enjoy. The Overlook Pond, while small, is also lovely; excellent for a quick walk. There are several entrances to Franklin Park, and I am most familiar with the one off of William Street in Jamaica Plain. It's a short walk from the Green Street T stop. I suggest going in that way if you're in search of a scenic, quiet spot for a picnic; they have a bunch of tables, and the surrounding area is very serene.
FPC keep an up-to-date schedule on their website, and host a lot of great community events including free movie nights, festivals, and concerts. They also lead a series of awesome educational walks and talks, including a midnight owl spotting outing, a bi-annual "weeds as feeds" lecture, and a landscape painting class. There's truly something for everyone here.Listed in: There is a Light That Will…
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Review from Kirs P.
Jamaica Plain, MA
7/21/2008 1 Check-in Here
Boston's largest park is my backyard. I'm a lucky girl. I haven't yet explored all 527 acres but I look forward to seeing them all. There are 15 miles of paths/walkways, three playgrounds, several tennis courts, baseball fields, basketball hoops galore, a golf course, a pond and old zoo ruins. Scary, scary zoo ruins that look like they might give you a nasty case of tetanus. Don't let the kiddies play too close- take 'em to see filled zoo exhibits- complete with animals- just down the path.
The best part: Franklin Park is one of the few places in the city where you can forget you are in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the US. That's an amazing feat and one well worth experiencing. Go get lost in the Wilderness.Listed in: Your Unofficial Guide to…
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Review from Robin J.
Jamaica Plain, MA
5/15/2008 1 Check-in Here
I can't believe I'm the first person to review Franklin Park! It's a truly amazing place, and I can't believe how long I lived in this town before I explored it. There's so much to do here- a football/track and field stadium, baseball diamonds, and basketball courts for organized sports; tons of trails for hiking, walking, and biking; a 65-acre forest for exploration; a playground off of Walnut Street; a golf course; old building ruins. The Franklin Park Zoo is off of the Blue Hill Ave entrance.
My favorite part is the bear cage ruins, which were prominently featured in the movie "Mystic River". They're totally creepy and awesome and I could spend all day exploring them.
If you've never been to Franklin Park and live nearby, make it a point to go. It's a little unsafe, especially after dark, but it's a wonderful part of Boston. They don't call it 'the crown jewel of the Emerald Necklace' for nothin'! -
Review from Aleksandra S.
Cambridge, MA
6/1/2008
I didn't like this park too much, i'd rather stick to good old Common.
At the entrance of the park it delivers a great first impression, the wilderness and nature, you feel lonesome and in the middle of green. But then you get over the hill and there it is: A stadium, a huge street and a golf course. This destroys the entire hang-out- in-a-beautiful-park-on-a sunday experience. Probably we just missed to find the good spots in this park, but i wouldn' t go there again to find out about that.
On top of that, it's a long ride from Cambridge. -
Review from Daniel A.
Roslindale, MA
4/19/2011
I have lived in the area my entire life and, excluding a few visits to the zoo, the extent of my visits to Franklin Park has consisted of driving through and a couple of races (Doyle's and the BAA Half Marathon). Yesterday, I went for a long run all through Franklin Park and was very impressed. There are lots of great trails to run on through the woods and interesting remnants of buildings as well.
The only reason it doesn't get a full 5 stars is the presence of litter in some areas. Also, visitors should be aware that the park abuts a few pretty rough neighborhoods. After-dark visits are not advisable. -
Review from KT B.
Boston, MA
8/21/2010
Franklin Park: Not as stabby as you think!
Not the best tagline, but it would work. It's got a bad rep, but really, it's the largest greenspace in Boston, it has a lot of wildlife for being in the city (especially birds), and there are a decent array of events and tours going on if you know where to look. Most importantly, unlike most of the more popular parks in Boston, it has a legit wilderness, not an array of carefully-planted trees surrounded by meticulously-cut grass and flowerbeds. That alone makes it worth visiting. -
Review from Hillary M.
Boston, MA
12/6/2008
This is a perfectly pleasant place to go for a little hike in the park. It is close to the city and has some little trails and stuff off the paved walkways. The park isn't exactly gorgeous (and note that we went in December), but it is also not as dirty as earlier reviewers reported. We saw only one group of three people hanging out on our hour plus walk, so this a good place for some off-leash walking. There are interesting relics of old buildings and lots of paths to take.
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Review from Mark B.
Dedham, MA
5/17/2009 1 photo
The idea of a large rural park to serve Boston came about in the years after the Civil War, after the short-lived Town of West Roxury was annexed to Boston (1874). The park itself formed the northeast corner of West Roxbury, with Roxbury across Seaver street to the north and Dorchester across Blue Hill ave. to the east. For years, the cost held up action, and representatives of distant parts of Boston saw no value to their constituents.
The 1880s began the work of taking land and designing and constructing the park, called West Roxbury Park at the time. There were few houses on the land, but farms did form the southern edge near Forest HIlls, and plans had been made to develop streets and build houses, so not all landowners were happy to have their land taken by the city. Frederick Law Olmsted was brought in to design the park, and it became one of his biggest projects. Olmsted saw the park as a rural retreat, where immigrant tenement-dwellers would excape the slums of the North and South End and have their spirits uplifted by the magic of clean air and green open spaces. Olmsted's park included open rolling meadows - today's golf course - wooded "wild" land, still remaining along Forest HIlls st, and a more ordered promenade along Seaver st. Before the park was even finished, thousands did come on Sundays - the only "weekend" day at the time - to picnic and see and be seen. However, things did not go as Olmsted planned.
The value of rural retreats for the downtrodden masses was a much-discussed subject for the better kind of people of the day, but those massed themselves preferred to actually do something with their time. Against Olmsted's wishes, people began playing baseball at the park in large numbers. There was a great bicycle craze during the late 1800s, and the park was filled with "wheelmen." In an effort to keep the ballplayers out, Franklin Field was built along Blue Hill ave, but still people refused to commune with rural nature. Ponds were demanded, so the city dug out the Scarboro ponds, directly against Olmsted's wishes. And against Olmsted's express demands, in the early 1900s, a zoo was added to the park. Olmsted wanted no active use - no sports, no ponds, and especially no zoo. By the First World War, the park consisted of a zoo, ballfields, ponds, and a golf couse! When a carriage road bisecting the park was opened to automobiles, the park was cut in half from corner to corner. Boston's working class had their way, and there was little left of the Olmsted park other than the layout of the bare earth itself.
Fun facts:
Curling and hockey teams used to play on the Scarboro ponds.
An army battery once marched up from Rhode Island and bivouaced at Franklin Park.
Franklin Park was named for Benjamin Franklin to honor the use of money he left the city in a hundred-year account, but legal battles with decendants tied up the Franklin Fund, leaving the city to pay for the park.
Schoolmaster Hill on the golf course honors Ralph Waldo Emerson, who lived in a house on the site while he taught school nearby. There are stone "ruins" on the site.
For more on the history of Franklin Park go here:
http://rememberjamaica... -
Review from Christine P.
Boston, MA
6/12/2009
Having such a large urban greenspace is fantastic. Franklin Park is fun and provides a safe environment for sports, music, golfing, running, etc. It's also the only park in Boston you can BBQ in! People think its a bad park, but its not anymore scary than walking in Boston at night.
Best part is the performances that go on every year. absolutely love it.
