Mass MoCA Hopes to Complete UNO Park by Memorial Day
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is setting an ambitious goal of having the new UNO community park open for Memorial Day weekend.
The opening could coincide with the ribbon cutting on Building 6 that will add 105,000 square feet of space to the museum.
"We're going to get it done as quickly as we can," said Mass MoCA Deputy Director Lawrence Smallwood at the Mass MoCA Commission meeting on Monday. "I have some vague notion of wishing I could have it done for Memorial Day, because we're going to have so many people here. It's very ambitious."
Digging had been expected to start this week but the weather hasn't been cooperative, he said. It's not critical to the Building 6 opening, and it will have its own grand opening in June in any case with a band and other activities.
There's also plans for an outdoor movie night in each of July and August.
JoAnn Lipa Bates asked if the street could be blocked off for events. Mayor Richard Alcombright thought there was an opportunity to close off Houghton between River Street and Bracewell Avenue.
"You could actually put music on the street, you could put food trucks on the street," he said. "It's something we would want to speak with our people at City Hall about."
The park will have a basketball halfcourt, bocce and badminton courts, benches and other seating. UNO will be very involved in that it will also oversee the sports equipment.
"It's a nice little pocket park with architectural credentials," Underwood said, adding that "this is funded with private money.
"The property was given to Mass MoCA to be part of our campus so we'll take care of it for snow, and lawn mowing and trees and planting, the city is going to help with water, and electricity and trash."
The mayor said the water and electrical access was primarily for watering the plants and security lighting, which would use low-cost LEDs.
"This is in every sense of the word a public park," he said. "We thought there should be some obligation."
The city will also grade and pave the small parking lot it owns between the park and Sanford & Kid on Bracewell Avenue. An accessible path through the garden will connect the 12-spot parking lot to the UNO Center.
"Sometimes it will get full but that's a good problem to have," Underwood said, noting there is also parking across the street at the Bracewell Park and that people can use the Mass MoCA parking lots as well. Plus, he added, "I'm hoping people will walk out of their houses to get to this."
The land was donated to Mass MoCA by UNO benefactor John "Jack" Wadsworth. The tire center's shell building was removed — and relocated to the museum grounds for repurposing — and the Goodyear sign switched to UNO Center. The center was established in the former Homestead Bar to give the 27-year-old United Neighbors Organization its own home.
"It's really going to be wonderful," said Commissioner Shirley Davis, founder of UNO.
Tags: mass moca, parks, UNO,
