Blackstone Parks Conservancy

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

Upcoming Events

July 8, 9 - 12, teen volunteers known as the Zoo Crew and led by Americorps volunteer Angela Germano, will clear invasive species along Angell Street in Blackstone Park. They will be instructed and supervised by Doug Still, City Forester.

Blackstone Park Summer Concert Series

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. It was built in 1905 across from the entrance to Swan Point Cemetery to provide shelter for Cemetery visitors who were waiting for the new Butler Avenue Trolley to return them from their visit to the cemetery. It was commissioned by the Directors of Swan Point Cemetery and designed by the prominent Providence architecture firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson to complement the cemetery wall across the street. At the time, it was furnished with comfortable benches and a waterline for a drinking fountain. In 1948, the Butler Avenue trolley line discontinued service and the shelter became a resting spot for pedestrians enjoying the footpath that replaced the trolley rails. In 1978, the shelter was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

The building was built to last at least one hundred years. Recently, finding that many of the cedar roof shingles were falling off and a number of the field stones had become dislodged and fallen to the ground, we decided to begin a campaign to restore it. Swan Point Cemetery gave us a major donation, over 90 members of the community have contributed, and we applied for a major grant.

The roof has now been replaced and the dislodged boulders put back in place by a mason. Adding historic lattice work, missing in recent years, is also part of this first phase. Next spring, we'll add interior and exterior lighting, a new floor, benches, water, landscaping, and paving stones to create a patio for public events between the path and the shelter. We're exploring community uses for the building once it is ready—plant sales, story hour, musical events, and more.

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.