At the time of its unveiling, the Echelman Sculpture received glowing reviews from the art world, Boston media and the public with thousands of social media posts and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of visitors.
An anonymous whistleblower group has roundly criticized the $2.6 million project for its cost overruns, among other things. We reported on how the Conservancy rebutted the allegations, noting the project was paid for by private donors/grants without public funds from MassDOT.
Now that you’ve heard both sides, we ask you the readers. Has the whistleblower report changed your mind about whether the Echelman Project was worth it? Please vote in the online poll above and leave your comments below.
Reference post: Greenway Conservancy Rebuts Whistleblower Report
Beautiful, and costly, while our city is in disrepair / subway cars and tracks, pot holes, bridges.
It gave me joy every time I saw it, which was almost daily.
The Conservancy defended its irresponsible overspending by stating that all of the funds used for public art on the Greenway comes from private donations. If the Greenway folks are so adept at fundraisning and excessive spending, then they should stop taking the $2 million a year they receive from the Commonwealth, our tax dollars! Maybe then they will start to exercise some fiscal restraint and reign in their carte blanche spending.
Spending that amount of money on such a ridiculous thing called art. Our Commonwealth and City dollars should be spent on fixing the streets and crosswalks in the North End so that our residents and tourists can walk without falling in a hole and the disabled can cross a street without fear of their wheelchairs falling (Check the intersection of Hanover and Prince.) Go to Somerville and Chelsea and see the beautiful crosswalks and handicap ramps they have. There a very few tourists in the lower end of Broadway in Somerville. Maybe the city of Boston should spend their dollars more wisely.
Pam,take a stroll thru the Prado which should be a showcase. Broken ,missing bricks filth, on a rare occasion the fountain may actually work. trash overflowing on the grounds from receptacles.When was the last time the Paul Revere statue which is probably the most photographed monument in Boston cleaned? Handicap friendly? I think not.
Michael. I wholeheartedly agree. The Prado is is a walk through for hundreds of tourists everyday. It should be , at the least, maintained!!! The missing bricks .. A definite hazard. Beautiful fountain, but neglected. What a shame!!!
The money’s already been spent. The most disappointing part is that it’s not even up to look at, it’s like adding insult to injury.
Unfortunately the people commenting don’t understand that Greenway funds coming from the public are only used to repair and maintain the Greenway. No money that was raised for the Eichelman sculpture could be used for any other purpose. In fact they are justifying what a great job the Greenway does with the limited funds they receive from the state. All of the defective parks they note are maintained by the City of Boston. Check out the Boston Common and the yellow dried out grass throughout. Then check out the Greenway and how beautifully green it is. And the fantastic usage its gets from families on these hot days. If the city were running it, it too would be a mess.
This is a terrific answer. Thank you, Jim.
Jim,you seem to know quite a bit about the Greenway funding, can you tell me how much $ the Kennedy family has contributed? What’s the over&under on this getting posted?