Discover Cambridge Pocket Parks

Discover Cambridge Pocket Parks is a publication of the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club in cooperation with the City of Cambridge.  For the first time 21 small “pocket parks” scattered through the City of Cambridge are identified and celebrated.  Defined simply as under-an-acre open spaces with trees, plantings, and a place to sit, their primary purpose is respite and repose, rather than recreation. Cambridge pocket parks are small green oases in our City’s urban landscape.

Discover Cambridge Pocket Parks briefly traces the history of pocket parks, from 19th century London to Paley Park in Manhattan; in Cambridge, Hastings Park and Winthrop Square Park date to before the Revolution; the most recent is Triangle Park, completed this year. The booklet provides a map of where the parks are located and brief descriptions of each of them.  We close with recommendations that the City invest in the maintenance of existing small parks, and that creating new ones, particularly in neighborhoods like Central Square, become a priority of Cambridge open space planning.

For the first time the City of Cambridge has identified pocket parks on its Community Development Department’s Open Space Map Gallery and Park Information Page.

We are deeply grateful to the City of Cambridge- Discover Cambridge Pocket Parks is a truly combined effort; however, the contents of the booklet are entirely the responsibility of the Club’s Pocket Park Committee and any errors are our own.

Click here to download a PDF of the book. To view the book below at full screen, just click the small square-shaped icon found in bottom right corner on the playback panel: