Mayor Marty Walsh officially reopened the Paul Revere Mall, known as the Prado, in Boston’s North End on Tuesday morning. The unveiling comes after nearly $3 million in improvements to revitalize the urban plaza, originally designed by Arthur Shurcliff, that connects Hanover Street to the Old North Church on the Freedom Trail.
As part of the design process and community meetings, a team of landscape architects, arborists, and engineers reviewed historic materials, design, and tree health to execute the improvement plan.
The City’s capital plan provided $1.9 million with just over another $1 million from the George Robert White Fund. While largely keeping the original design, the restored Mall has new brick paving, fountain and masonry restoration, accessibility improvements, site lighting, tree pruning, and new tree plantings.
The event also served as this year’s Mayor’s Coffee Hour where participants took in Dunkin’ coffee, fresh fruit from Star Market and received a flowering plant grown in the city’s greenhouses. Children from the Eliot K-8 and St. John School sang at the occasion and took part in the ribbon cutting.