Nearly a year ago on March 17th, 2022, Mayor Michelle Wu alongside the National Parks Service announced that Thomas Park would receive more than $25 million from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) to restore the iconic 1902 Dorchester Heights Monument tower and surrounding park area. When complete, the project will enable visitors to enjoy the improved public green space and spectacular 115-foot landmark on Telegraph Hill that commemorates a pivotal event of the Revolutionary War. The rehabilitation work includes structural upgrades, masonry restoration, and improvement of the monument’s foundation, superstructure, exterior enclosure, roof, interior stairs, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. The grounds, lighting, and signage will be vastly improved for visitors’ experience.
If you’ve gone for a run, had a picnic in the lawn or walked your dog up at Thomas Park the last decade, you would’ve noticed the crumbling infrastructure on the stairs and walls— much of it roped off for years!
While the closing of Thomas Park will be inconvenient for quite some time, its needed renovations will be enjoyed for decades to come including our 250th Anniversary of American Independence in 2026!
Here’s a History Lesson On Thomas Park too.
Corey has been a resident of South Boston since 2008 and currently works at Essential Design as a product designer. He’s an avid skier, runner and cyclist always looking for ways to make Boston an ideal city to work, live and play.
Hi Corey –
Thanks for the follow-up story. Any insight as to exactly what the criteria is in order to meet the specifications?
Thanks,
Tony C.
Tony, I believe the criteria is also known as the ‘scope of work’ and details the work which must be done by a company to fulfill their contract for this job. I don’t have a detailed list of the scope of work but a general idea. As the standards are very high for restoring a historical structure and the overall job (s) is very complex, the pool of companies that can fulfill such a contract is limited. That’s what NPS explained to me. Hope that helps!