Photos: Worcester Crowns City's 62nd Public Park

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester officials, artists and community members held a grand opening Thursday at the city's newest public park — No. 62 in the city — by christening an artist-designed arch at Blackstone Gateway Park.

The park covers a swath of the Middle River and adjacent wetlands between McKeon Road and the Holy Cross campus. An arch was installed in June at the entrance to the park along McKeon Road — right next to the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center, which is also the beginning of a paved pathway alongside the river.

The arch was designed by Worcester-based glass artists Tomo Sakai and Eric Cruz. During remarks Thursday, Sakai said the arch was meant as a tribute to the American Steel & Wire Co. factory that once stood near the park.

Work on the park started in April 2017, according to Public Works Commissioner Jay Fink, but a wider redevelopment of the area has been in the works for decades — and there's still more to do.

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City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. highlighted how long it's taken to redevelop the area. He worked for U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern 20 years ago when funding for the Blackstone visitor's center was introduced in Congress. And it was years later as a member of the state House that state cooperation was secured. Augustus gestured to an empty commercial building next to the park and said the city hopes to tear it down to build a parking lot for the park next.

Inside the park, visitors can explore a 1/2-mile network of boardwalks, which offer views of birds and other wildlife and the river below. The park connects to the Blackstone River Bikeway, which extends south to 122A in Millbury.

If you go...

Blackstone Gateway Park
615 McKeon Road, Worcester
Park website