Boston Aims To Redesign City Hall Plaza Into 'Welcoming Front Yard For Civic Life'

Boston City Hall Plaza will soon undergo a $70 million facelift that promises to transform the plot from what's been described by some as a “barren wasteland” into what city officials call “a welcoming front yard for civic life.”

“We wanted it to also be a place that wasn't just a cut-through, you know, 'Meet me at City Hall Plaza, let's get a cup of coffee,’ ” Patrick Brophy, chief of operations for the city, told reporters inside City Hall on Monday.

Since it was built 50 years ago City Hall Plaza has been singled out for its architectural uniqueness — whether praised as a triumph of brutalism, or lambasted as "one of the most disappointing places in America,” according to the nonprofit Project for Public Spaces, which included the space on its Hall of Shame.

Mayor Marty Walsh announced early in his tenure that he wanted to transform City Hall Plaza into a more welcoming and user-friendly space. Some four years later, city officials released Tuesday their new renovation plans.

Kate Tooke of the design firm Sasaki, which was hired to spearhead the redesign, said an important priority for the plan was increased accessibility. She said that goal has been difficult to achieve due to the sloped elevation of the lot.

“The [Americans with Disabilities Act] did not exist when this plaza was designed, and so you have 22 feet of grade change, which was dealt with in terms of a series of terraces,” Tooke said. “But now we have codes which govern accessibility, and we also have a philosophy as a community of designers that spaces should be universally accessible.”

Tooke said the renovations will do away with terraces that make it difficult for people in wheelchairs to get around the plaza.

Here's a sampling of the planned new features:

Members of the public are invited to an open house that will focus on the redesign. It's from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5 at City Hall Plaza.

Renderings of the renovations: