Crawford Street Playground - Boston, MA

CBA designed the renovation of this park as part of a combined contract with Walnut Park Play Area. Both parks have a presence on Walnut Avenue in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, but the two parks vary greatly in size and program, creating an opportunity to design complementary programs. Crawford Street Playground is a 6+ acre park, creating pedestrian connections between Crawford Street, Walnut Avenue and Abbotsford Street. The park serves as the main outdoor play space for the adjacent David A. Ellis Elementary School and abuts the National Center for Afro-American Artists museum and grounds. CBA’s design creates universal pedestrian access across the park; added site lighting for safety; improved the Little League field; expanded the footprint of the playground; and added a water connection to support a new splash pad and drinking fountain/bottle filler to counteract urban heat island effect. The park renovation also prioritized retaining mature shade trees and included the careful removal of invasive plant colonies.