Blackstone Parks Conservancy

"Dedicated to the preservation and stewardship of historic Blackstone Park and Boulevard."

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events scheduled at this time. Please check back for further updates.

Trolley Shelter Restoration Campaign

That little windowless building built of uncut fieldstones opposite the entrance to Swan Point Cemetery? It's a trolley shelter and it's listed on the National Registry of Historical Places.

The building was built to last at least one hundred years. In 2007, finding that its deteriorated condition had become hazardous to the public, we began a campaign to restore it.

We have now completed Phase I of a campaign to restore it at a cost of $35,720.00, covered by $10, 000 from Swan Point Cemetery, a $10,000 grant from the Champlin Foundations, and $15,720 in donations from the community. We hired an architect, Cornelus DeBoer, who has been involved with the restoration of many historic properties throughout the city, including the historic administrative building and chapel at Swan Point Cemetery. Working with the original plans provided from the archives at Swan Point Cemetery, he developed a restoration plan that was skillfully carried out by Stephenson Construction. Phase I included the removal and replacement of all of the wooden roof shingles and installation of new red copper valleys and a drip edge around the perimeter of the roof line. Historic lattice work, missing in recent years, was added. The dislodged boulders were set back in place and mortared as needed.

Phase II will bring power to the building for interior and exterior lighting. A new electric light pole will be installed on the north side of Elmgrove where it crosses the Boulevard. Three lights will be suspended from the ceiling of the shelter, casting light down and to the sides. We may add historical/educational signs, and landscaping tailored to anticipated public uses.  The original plans showed that benches were located inside the shelter and we are hopeful that they will be reinstalled in the future.

This summer a series of four free public concerts was held at the site, sponsored by Whole Foods of Waterman Street.

We welcome donations to help us continue this exciting enhancement of our boulevard.

Please Take Our Survey

Please fill in our new online survey designed to help us learn about your use of Blackstone Park and Blackstone Boulevard. Give us your suggestions for how to improve both parks. Tell us whether you would use a drinking fountain on the boulevard. Survey

To contribute to our efforts please visit our Membership page.

To learn more about the history of Blackstone Park and Blackstone Boulevard please visit our History page.

For the history of the reforestation project please visit our Project page.