Magazine Beach

Work is getting ready to ramp up at the Magazine. The masons should start their work in the next week, most likely. The general contractor will be on site to remove obsolete services from the inside of the magazine, and pour concrete for the landings at the doors. The overhead doors and wooden windows and doors should be up by the end of May to mid June, with painting and electric to follow.

General Contractor – Campbell Construction, LLC

Mason – Chapman Weatherproofing

Electrician – Sanibel Electric Corp.

–Peter Seweryn, Project Manager, DCR’s Historic Curatorship Program

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Mark Your Calendars! Open House at the Powder Magazine: Saturday, May 14, 10am-12 noon. Note: The Magazine itself will NOT be open as part of this event since it will be under construction. Look for historic panels, however, telling about the long history of the 1818 structure—the oldest building on the Charles River Basin.

Hope to see you at the park on Saturday, April 30th, 9am-12noon, for our Annual Charles River Earth Day Clean up. It’s spring and time to get our park into shape for months of picnicking, running, dog walking, soccer, baseball and just plain relaxing along the river.

Meet at the parking crescent at the foot of Magazine Street for gloves, bags, brownies and water!

For more about the larger cleanup, see: http://www.crwa.org/charles-river-cleanup. We’re still welcoming volunteers at Magazine Beach!

Today, the CRA announced that the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Assn. is the recipient of a $10,000 capital grant to help fund an ADA-accessible public canoe/kayak launch at the end of the Cottage Farm Facility at Magazine Beach.

According to the terms of the Forward Fund Grant, this aspect of the Phase II design will be implemented in 2016. Thank you, CRA!

The winning mixed eight at the Crusher Casey Challenge.

Mike Farry and Ilana Zieff won the singles at the 2016 Crusher Casey Challenge.

Nikolay Kurmakov’s son Andrew and wife Laura pose with the boat dedicated to the longtime Riverside and Simmons Coach.

Riverside Boat Club Kicks Off 2016 

On Sunday, the RBC held their annual, fun Crusher Casey inauguration of the 2016 outdoor season. Three mixed (men’s and women’s) crews raced on a cool and blustery spring morning. Check here soon for the date of Riverside’s more serious rowing event, the Cromwell Cup Regatta, coming up in late June or early July.

For more about Crusher Casey and “The Famous Casey’s,” click here. Photos courtesy of Riverside’s Igor Belakovskiy. Thanks to Igor, Amanda Milad and Dick Garver for their help with this post.

Head to the park to see bird’s nests, budding trees and tiny flowers. They’re all there under the snow…

Last week, Jeanne noted: The birds were in full song—not just chirping, several brand new tiny, beautiful birds nests appeared and the following spring birds: goldfinches, ruby-crowned kinglets, an eastern phoebe, a purple martin, blue-grey gnatcatcher, a white breasted nuthatch. Bees buzzed around.

Note: Much wildlife stayed put for the winter. Spotted between December and February:

Birds: Canada geese (flocks of 40 to 100 birds), seagulls, sparrows, cormorant, great crested flycatcher, slate colored junco, downy woodpeckers, golden crowned kinglets, mockingbirds, catbird, blue jays, red-tailed hawks, robins, eastern phoebe, chickadees, scarlet tanager, wood thrush, goldfinches, brown thrashers, cardinals, grackles, black-throated blue warbler, yellow warbler, mallard ducks, common mergansers, northern shovelers, mourning dove, great blue heron, purple finches, house finches, raven, European starling, redwing blackbird, and cedar waxwing.

Other critters: Rabbit, snake, squirrels, voles, crickets, mosquitoes and tiny flies

Jeanne says that she observed most of the winter birds in the swales and the hedge. The thistles and milkweed pods, as well as seeds that had fallen to the ground there, provided a lot of food. She also saw birds around the berry trees along both sides of Memorial Drive, clustered around the footbridge. These berries lasted through the first half of February. Most of the hawks I saw were in the tall trees beside the footbridge, as well.

 Remember, our Annual Earth Day Cleanup is Saturday, April 30, 9-12 noon!

Magazine Beach–A Place Apart will be on view at the Mass. State House (4th floor, outside of the House Gallery), March 7-18. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm. It includes a new section,  A Revitalized Park, featuring the latest landscape plans and renderings of the park and information about the Powder Magazine and DCR’s Historic Curatorship Program.

We’ve organized two related programs at noon at the State House. Please join us!

Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 9, 12-1pm. 4th floor. Free.

Lunchtime Panel: Saving Our Parks: Effective Partnerships between Government & Community Groups, Wednesday, March 16, 12-1pm. 3rd floor, Room 350. Free.

Refreshments served at both. For further info and photos, click on Events.

Rep. Livingstone and fans at the exhibit opening. L to R: Cathie Zusy, Rep. L., Decia Goodwin and David Torrey

Sharl Heller talks about volunteer efforts to preserve the Southeastern Mass. Coastal Pine Barrens at our “Saving Our Parks” panel Wednesday. Photo by Erica Mattison.

Fruit of flowering crabapple trees a mainstay for robins

Even with temperatures approaching 0˚ F., the robins that stay around all winter need to get out and find food. One place to look for birds of all kinds at this time of year is in the row of red-fruited crabapple trees along the pedestrian overpass at the corner of Memorial Drive and Magazine. On Thursday, February 11, the trees were crowded with robins; they seem to wait until the tiny apples reach a certain stage of ripeness and then show up in force.

It was an impressive sight Thursday an hour or so before sunset, around 4 p.m. The trees swarmed with robins—about two hundred of them were feeding up in the branches and on the snowy ground below. A few purple finches were mixed in, and a cedar waxwing hung around on the outskirts, but the robins were very much in charge

They go through the supply fast, however. A look at the same spot at noon on Friday showed only bare branches–not a crabapple, not a robin to be seen.

However, a red-tailed hawk was kibitzing on both days from a tree across the street in Magazine Beach Park. Thursday he probably didn’t have any trouble finding a songbird for lunch, but Friday he was out of luck. –Mary Holbrow

Cardinal

Downey woodpecker

Golden crowned kinglet

Goldfinch

Mockingbird

Red-tailed hawk

Cormorant

Many thanks to the bird and critter watchers at Magazine Beach who are noting what they see and when on the Powder Magazine whiteboard. Among the creatures spotted between October 15^th and the end of December were:

Canada geese, White geese, Seagulls, Sparrows, Cormorants, Downey woodpeckers, Golden crowned kinglets, Mockingbirds, Bluejays, Red-tailed hawks, Robins, Eastern phoebe, Chicadees, Scarlet tanagers, Goldfinches, Black-throated blue warblers, Mallard ducks, Northern shovelers, and a Great-crested flycatcher, Slate-colored junco, Catbird, Wood thrush, Brown thrasher, Grackle, Yellow warbler, Mourning dove and Great-blue heron.

Rabbits, squirrels, voles, crickets mosquitoes and a snake—seen in the water near the kayak landing.

This is the beginning of a seasonal record of wildlife at the park. Check out the nature just down the street!

In 2016 the Powder Magazine will, at long last, get new windows, doors, masonry repointing and security lighting AND DCR will select an “historic curator” (a tenant) for the property. AND Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge will complete the design for the park AND DCR might even implement some of the proposed improvements. All of this is happening because of YOUR/OUR advocacy.

After five years of dedicated work with DCR, the City of Cambridge, and partners the Charles River Conservancy and the Riverside Boat Club, we are on the cusp of change. Happy New Year and thank you for YOUR contributions to our little revolution at Magazine Beach Park–our 15-acre oasis along the river.

Cathie Zusy for the Magazine Beach Committee of the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, Inc.

For more information, click here: 2015 in Review.

As early as mid-2018, Mass. DOT will begin realigning the Mass Pike, just across the river, and taking out the toll booths. The State will present its plans to Cambridge next Tuesday, December 15, 6-8pm at the Morse School (40 Granite St.). It is VERY IMPORTANT that residents and business owners attend to learn about the project and to:

1. advocate for measures to quiet Soldiers Field Road and I-90 and;
2. to extend the river parklands on the Boston side to serve as a visual and sound buffer for Cambridge. Magazine Beach and the Cambridge river parklands don’t need to be so noisy. 

I-90 and Soldiers Field Road, just across from the park, will be realigned in the next years. See you at the IMPT meeting about this next Tuesday!

Over 100 people attended DOT’s presentation last night in Allston; mostly, they were concerned about connectivity issues since the realigned Pike is in their backyard. Please attend next Tuesday’s program to share your concerns. This project is a great opportunity to make Cambridge quieter.

To learn more, go to: https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/HighlightedProjects/AllstonI90InterchangeImprovementProject.aspx. Comments are due by Dec. 22 at dot.feedback.highway@state.ma.us.

Remember to submit your comments about the design for Phase II to DCR by this Wed., Dec. 9. See Nov. 18th post for image, the link to Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge’s presentation about the design, and the feedback portal. Also, Expressions of Interest (RFEI)  in the Powder Magazine are also due Dec. 9. Eager to hear from you!  See the Globe article re this here.

Progress! A sign telling about the history of the Magazine and DCR’s seeking a tenant for it has been posted on its door.