Area Parks Receive Verdant Makeover

Every year fresh grass is planted in Harvard Yard for the benefit of the guests at commencement. But this year, the greening of Harvard is being taken a step farther as two parks in Harvard Square near completion in time for the University's 350th birthday party.

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Park on the corner of Memorial Drive and JFK St. will not be completely finished until next spring, due to delays in receiving the granite necessary to build its centerpiece--the JFK Memorial Fountain. But according to its planners at the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), by the time 350th visitors arrive, they will be able to stroll the $2.5 million project's newly paved paths and enjoy its lush grass, instead of the current view of dirt and bulldozers.

"People will not be allowed to sit or stand on the grass, since we will just have laid fresh sod," said MDC spokesman Dorothea Malley. "But they will be able to enjoy the park."

Old Park

Another bit of greenery will return this fall to Harvard Square about 350 years after it was originally built.

Winthrop Park, on JFK St. in front of Grendel's restaurant, originally served in 1631 as Newtown Marketplace. In the early 1800s, it was converted into a park. By late September of 1986, the park, which has since degenerated into a mass of weeds and a haven for street people, will be completely relandscaped, said Kitty Dukakis, director of the Public Space Partnership project at the Kennedy School and wife of Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

The state's first lady said the K-School group sponsored the park's renovation in order to test different design and fundraising techniques that can be used to improve public spaces.

Businesses surrounding the new park praised the renovation because "it will clean up the area," said Sue Kuelzer, owner of Grendel's. She said that Grendel's has tentative plans to set up outside tables overlooking the park.

Decorating the park will be the winner of a Cambridge Arts Council contest. They chose the creation of local artist Carlos Dorrien, who made a granite sculpture "shaped like an imaginary cornerstone, like an archaeological remnant," said Lori Poklop of the Cambridge Arts Council.