Magazine Beach

“Autumn, Magazine Beach, Cambridge” by Nicholas Read

During August local artists will share moments in time at Magazine Beach—the second largest park in Cambridge—at the Central Square Library. “Nature and History in Our Midst” includes artwork by Gary Blau, Jeff Gardner, Nicholas Read, Peter Valentine and Jason Peter Williams.

In 1889, inspired by the creation of the new water “park on the Boston side of the river,” D. A. Buckley petitioned for the City of Cambridge to purchase the flats between Brookline Bridge (now BU bridge) and Pleasant Streets, including Captain’s Island, to create a park and playground for the young (Cambridge Chronicle6 April 1889). In the following years the City bought the land and hired the Olmsted Brothers to convert the 1818 powder magazine there into a bathhouse for men and boys. In the early 1900s Magazine Beach was a favorite swimming spot along the Charles, refreshing as many as 60,000 bathers each summer.

“Old Magazine” by Jeff Gardner

“Evening Clouds” by Jason Peter Williams

“Under the Canopy” by Gary Blau

“The Cambridge Geese” cards by Peter Valentine

Twenty-seven months and $3.6 million dollars later, the new pedestrian footbridge connecting Cambridgeport safely to Magazine Beach is officially completed and open for use. The temporary traffic light at Magazine St. and Memorial Dr. is gone, as is one of the construction trailers. The other trailer will be gone within a few weeks—after finals repairs to the east upper truss on the BU Bridge.

About this project, see: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/projects/pdf/Magazine%20Beach%20Ped%20Bridge%202.24.09.pdf

Magazine Beach Cleanup, 9am-12 noon

Led by CRC Volunteer Coordinator, Danielle Stehlik . Please RSVP at dms@thecharles.org so there will be enough tools and gloves for all participants!

Tour of “Captain’s Island, now known as Magazine Beach,” 10:30-11:30 am

Meet at the powder magazine. This Cambridge Discovery Day tour will be led by scholars Marilyn Wellons and Nina Cohen. Questions? Contact Nina at ninascohen@yahoo.com.

Tour Description: Over the centuries, Magazine Beach has had many incarnations. Surrounded by salt marshes and oyster beds, it became a military lookout in the 1600s and 1700s; a secure and isolated location for the storage of gun powder in the 1800s; and a popular bathing area in the 1900s–that is, until it was closed due to concerns about polio and pollution in 1947. Learn about mercenary Captain Daniel Patrick who was granted the island in 1636, and about surveyor Peter Tufts, Jr. who with his son served as keepers for the 1818 powder magazine. It was the Olmsted Brothers (of Emerald Necklace fame), themselves, who turned this fifteen-acre parcel into an urban park in the late 1890s as the people of Cambridge longed for a water park and playgrounds for the young.

This tour will be repeated on Saturday, August 11^th, 10:30-11:30am. For information about other Cambridge Discovery Day tours, go to: www.cambridgema.gov/historic/walks.html.

Below: July 5th the Creative Action Project girls painted the railings under the new pedestrian footbridge and picked up trash. Thank you CAP girls and to Danielle Stehlik, too, for organizing the event and taking the photos.

Hundreds of people celebrated the 4^th at Magazine Beach yesterday. Many extended families gathered. Some have picnicked here for three, four and five generations. These include the Green, Thompson, Cooley, White, Bridgeman, Headley and Jarvis families. While many of these families are from Cambridge, others are from further away, including Boston, Allston, Mattapan and Waltham.

There was a cool breeze along the river and spirits were high. Children splashed in the pool and the smells of grilled burgers and fried chicken and sounds of laughter and conviviality filled our local “resort.”

DCR Awarded the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association with $50k for the powder magazine at Magazine Beach and the City of Cambridge $30k for new benches along the Charles River.
Pictured left to right: DCR Commissioner Edward M. Lambert, Jr., CNA Board Member Cathie Zusy, Cambridge’s Director of Community Planning Stuart Dash, DCR’s Director of Partnerships Conrad Crawford and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan.

DCR’s $50k will match the $25k that the City of Cambridge allocated in September 2011. This money will be spent to commission an historical structure report to guide restoration and interpretative efforts and to begin to fix the roof. Patrice Kish, DCR’s Director of Cultural Resourcees, will oversee the project in partnership with the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association and the Cambridge Historical Commission.

Here’s the latest from DCR:

Veterans Memorial Swimming and Wading Pool

(Magazine Beach), 719 Memorial Dr., (617) 354-9381

Opens June 23 – August 26

Open Swim Hours: 11am – 7pm

The New England Grassroots Environmental Fund has awarded the CNA $1,500 to further our work at Magazine Beach. This money will be used to provide a modest stipend to local historians Marilyn Wellons and Nina Cohen, who have been researching the site to inform preservation efforts at the 1818 powder magazine and future interpretation of the park.  It will also provide a small stipend to filmmakers Jennifer Malin, of Harvard University, and to Augie Cummings, of Cambridge Rindge & Latin. Together, they will produce a short film about the rich history and potential of the fifteen-acre park. We are grateful to the NEGEF for their support for this project. This is their second grant to the CNA. In April 2011, they awarded us $4,000.  Thank you NEGEF!

Spring is in the air at Magazine Beach.