Twenty Years Later
The Neponset River Reservation
Pope John Paul II Park , Neponset II Park , and the Neponset River Trail
Restored salt marsh inlet at PJP II Park . Photo | Pressley Associates 2016 aerial view of PJP II Park . SPhoto | Tony Cammarata , Aerial Boston
KIMBERLY DRAKE , ASLA , AND MARION PRESSLEY , FASLA
How Bad Was It ?
The Neponset River has declined from the turn of the 18th century to recent times , afflicted by water pollution , over-fishing , industrialization , dredging , and subsequent dumping of dredge spoils . Of the three major rivers within the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation ( DCR ) park system , however , it has remained the only one not dammed at its mouth . As a tidal river , it retains some historical features in its lower reaches , while allowing the rich influx of marine life to continue its cyclical ways . Preserving the Neponset estuary and working with the tidal fluctuations have become important aspects within the development of the Neponset River Reservation .
Pope John Paul II Park ( PJP II ) is on the northern bank of the Neponset River , near its mouth on Boston Harbor at the Dorchester-Quincy border . This site was formerly home to the Neponset Drive- In Theatre ( in 1950 and abandoned by the 1980s ) along with the adjacent Hallet Street Landfill . It is
effectively cut off visually and physically from the adjacent neighborhoods to the west by the bed of the former Old Colony Railroad system and by the Southeast Expressway , which runs atop an elevated bank . Local readers may be familiar with the site ’ s transformation from drive-in / landfill to park , as motorists travelling north toward the City of Boston have crept slowly past it over the years , stuck in seemingly round-the-clock Southeast Expressway congestion .
A site further upstream on the Neponset River was also the site of industrial operations , which included dilapidated industrial buildings , buried tanks , and a degraded seawall . This site , though degraded , showed potential as a link to the Neponset River Trail , a recreational trail connecting other local DCR trail systems . The site realized its potential when it was later transformed into Neponset II Park . This small park is visible from the southbound lanes of the Expressway , and may be admired at length during the evening rush hour .
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