“Boston’s New Urban Playground”
Notes from Underground (at Ink Block)
W e often see Boston through rooftop views, third-story window vantage points, and street level panoramas — but we rarely do we go deeper, looking up at the city from underneath. Underground at Ink Block, Boston’s new outdoor community space, provides passersby with an unusual shift in perspective. Though the 8-acre underpass is tucked below I–93, the Underground’s landscape offers more than just concrete grey. A series of 17 murals curtain the area in vibrancy, providing urban walkers, bikers, runners, artists, and art-viewers with colorful illustrations that enhance this entirely unique viewpoint of Boston. As a place-branding agency, we look to places like Underground at Ink Block as inspiration for our work—places that promote inclusivity, civic engagement, and creativity, while helping to solve a practical problem.
Before our client National Development partnered with MassDOT to transform the underpass into the evolved urban park it is now, the area was a “forgotten plot created by the big dig.” Called a “former no-man’s land” by The Boston Globe and “eight acres that no one ever wanted to travel through” by Ted Tye, Managing Partner at National Development, the pre-developed space was a haven for chain-link fences and crime.
“Eight acres that no one ever wanted to travel through…”
Today, Underground at Ink Block has been dubbed Boston’s “new urban playground,” and serves as a gallery for street art; an outdoor venue for fitness classes, food and beverage events, and live music; and a much-needed new link that connects South Boston to the South End.
After this summer’s completion of eight new murals on surfaces throughout the space, Underground at Ink Block boasts one of the largest public street art installations in New England. This new art joins nine other murals completed by renowned local and international street artists in 2017.
Underground at Ink Block is helping to transform Boston into a city with more “destination” outdoor public spaces—reminiscent of New York City with The High Line. Like The Lawn on D in South Boston, National Development recognized the potential civic impact of an underutilized location, and converted a vacant area into a venue that fosters community engagement and creativity.
We look to projects like Underground at Ink Block as inspirations for our own place-branding strategy at Proverb. Designing great places revolves around both transforming the built environment into immersive experiences that cultivate community, and solving an actual business problem. When we dive into any place building project, we aim to create activated spaces promoting diversity, connection, and collaboration.
When one of our trusted clients approached us about building an apartment community — now called The Pioneer — in Everett, we began a project stationed in an underdeveloped area. To elevate the building’s surroundings, we strove to incorporate the edgier location into The Pioneer’s brand narrative of exploration and discovery, enticing residents to venture into Everett, embrace its grittiness, and capitalize on its untapped residential potential. Once constructed, The Pioneer invited Common Ground, a local coffee roaster, to open up shop in the building’s lobby as a way of introducing new tenants to the coffee-loving locals. Like Underground at Ink Block, The Pioneer helped to transform an unexplored area into a celebrated locale with a resounding story.
Inspired by places like Underground at Ink Block, Proverb strives to continue building activated spaces that revamp the built environment and prioritize community, civic impact, and creative problem solving.
