Fells Connector Parkways: Difference between revisions

| addedbuilt = May 9, 2003 = 1895

The '''Fells Connector Parkways''' are a group of historic [[parkway]]s in the cities of [[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden]] and [[Medford, Massachusetts]], suburbs north of the city of [[Boston]]. The three parkways, '''The Fellsway''', '''Fellsway West''', and '''Fellsway East''' serve to provide access from the lower portion of the [[Mystic River Reservation]] to the [[Middlesex Fells Reservation]]. The latter two parkways continue northward, providing access to the interior of the Fells and providing a further connection to the [[Lynn Fells Parkway]]. Significant portions of these parkways south of the Fells, which were among the first connecting parkways designed to be part of the [[Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston]] by [[Charles Eliot (landscape architect)|Charles Eliot]], were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2003.

Following the enactment of authorizing legislation in 1894, the Metropolitan Parks Commission (predecessor to the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) and today's [[Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation]] (DCR)) began working with Charles Eliot to plan a parkway to provide access from Boston to the Middlesex Fells Reservation. This job was made difficult due to the existence of relatively densely populated areas between the [[Mystic River]] and the reservation. The plan that the commission and Eliot finally drafted called for an arterial trunk (The Fellsway), which would run north through Medford and Malden, and then split into two branches. Fellsway West would provide access to the promontory point at Pine Hill in Medford (now visible on the west side of [[Interstate 93]]) and the western parts of the reservation, while Fellsway East would provide access to Bear's Den Hill in Malden, and points east. These corridors were wide ({{convert|120|ft|m|adj=on}}) rights of way, in order to provide for several modes of transportation: automobile, street car, and pedestrians and cyclists.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url=httphttps://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspxdetails?MhcIdmhcid=MDFmdf.Yy|title=NRHP nomination for Fells Connector Parkways|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|accessdateaccess-date=2014-01-24}}</ref>

|location=[[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]]–[[MaldenMedford, Massachusetts|MaldenMedford]]

Land for '''The Fellsway''' was acquired in 1896. Its original southern terminus was at Mystic Avenue in Somerville, and was further extended south to Broadway in 1898. The Somerville section of the parkway south of Mystic Avenue later became part of the McGrath Highway, and the intervening section was extensively altered by the construction of I-93. The Fellsway is designated [[Massachusetts Route 28]] for its entire length. From Somerville it crosses the Mystic River into Medford on the Wellington Bridge and soon enters the Wellington Circle interchange, where it joins with the [[Mystic Valley Parkway]] and the [[Revere Beach Parkway]], both designated [[Massachusetts Route 16]]. It crosses into Malden near Devir Park, shortly before it ends at the junction with Fellsway West and Fellsway East. The Medford and Malden portions of The Fellsway, including its medians and Wellington Circle, are part of the National Register listing for the Fells Connector Parkways.<ref name=NRHP/>

|location=[[MaldenMedford, Massachusetts|MaldenMedford]]–[[Stoneham, Massachusetts|Stoneham]]

'''Fellsway East''' runs north from the interchange with The Fellsway and Fellsway West, with its entire length in Malden, [[Melrose, Massachusetts|Melrose]], and Stoneham. The oldest portion runs to East Border Road at the southern edge of the Fells, crossing [[Massachusetts Route 60]] and passing Fellsmere Park. Except for a brief section, it is a broad multilane boulevard with an impressive tree canopy over the northern part, and is the best preserved section of the Fells Connector Parkways.<ref name=NRHP/> From the junction with East Border Road, it becomes a narrow park road, passing into a heavily wooded section of the Fells Reservation in Melrose. It then becomes a border road, skirting the eastern edge of the reservation in Melrose before reaching its end at a junction with Pond Street and the [[Lynn Fells Parkway]] in Stoneham.<ref name=FellsRoadways>{{cite web|url=httphttps://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspxdetails?MhcIdmhcid=STNstn.Mm|title=NRHP nomination for Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkways|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|accessdateaccess-date=2014-01-23}}</ref> The section of this parkway south of East Border Road is listed as part of the Fellsway Connector Parkways; the northern section is listed as part of the Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkways.<ref name=NRHP/>