Charlestown Heights

Charlestown Heights, also known as the Doherty Playground or Doherty Park, is an urban park in Charlestown, a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of five small urban parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for the city. These small parks were designed to provide small greenspaces in densely populated neighborhoods. The Doherty Playground was laid out on the north side of Bunker Hill, sloping down the hill from Bunker Hill Avenue to Medford Street, between St. Martin Street and North Mead Street.[2]

Charlestown Heights
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
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Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°22′54.7″N 71°3′58.6″W
Area	3.8 acres (1.5 ha)
Built	1891
Architect	F.L. Olmsted & Co.
Architectural style	Moderne, urban designed landscape
NRHP reference No.	97000969 [1]
Added to NRHP	January 8, 1998

The park was laid out in the early 1890s and opened in 1895. It is divided into three sections. The uppermost section, abutting Bunker Hill Avenue, is essentially a flat promenade, a grassy area dotted with trees, with paths and benches, as well as a monument commemorating the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill. An allée of trees line runs parallel to the street.[2]

A large central area of the park contains active recreation facilities, and is the portion of the park which has been most altered from the original Olmsted design. It includes the Clougherty Pool complex, including a swimming pool and Moderne-style bathhouse designed by John M. Gray. This level also includes basketball courts, a playground, and a wading pool. The lowest level of the park, abutting Medford Street, is a sloping meadow with naturalistic pathways meandering through it. Stairs in this section have granite rises, with cheeks of puddingstone.[2]

The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.[1]