Mayor Marty Walsh officially reopened the Paul Revere Mall, known as the Prado, in Boston’s North End on Tuesday morning. The unveiling comes after nearly $3 million in improvements to revitalize the urban plaza and open space, originally designed by Arthur Shurcliff, that connects Hanover Street to the Old North Church on the Freedom Trail.
As part of the design process and community meetings, a team of landscape architects, arborists, and engineers reviewed historic materials, design, and tree health to execute the improvement plan. The City’s capital plan provided $1.9 million with just over another $1 million from the George Robert White Fund. While largely keeping the original design, the restored Mall has new brick paving, fountain and masonry restoration, accessibility improvements, site lighting, tree pruning, and new tree plantings.
The event also served as this year’s Mayor’s Coffee Hour where participants took in Dunkin’ coffee, fresh fruit from Star Market and received a flowering plant grown in the city’s greenhouses. Children from the Eliot K-8 and St. John School sang at the occasion and took part in the ribbon cutting.
Just curious, why is it known as the “Prado”?
Think it’s from Spanish and or Latin to describe a public park. Actually to the locals of the NE it was referred to as the “Parado”
“The Prado” has been an integral part of the North End since it was created during the great Depression. According to articles from Globe archives, the idea for the scenic promenade was spearheaded by Mayor James Michael Curley, and it was modeled after a famous prado, or field, in Havana, Cuba
Several tenement buildings were razed to create the public space (former Boston City Council president Christopher A. Iannella and his parents were among those evicted from the apartments that once stood there). The Prado was officially dedicated by Curley in November 1933.
The mall was designed by landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff, and funding for the project came from the George Robert White Fund. The last time the mall was renovated was 1990.