Joey,
Big news from the largest playground and green space in central Gloucester: Burnham’s Field is set to reopen this Saturday after its first major renovation in 30 years! All are invited to the Grand Reopening Event this Saturday at 9 a.m.
Thanks!
John McElhenny
Friends of Burnham’s Field
Sept. 3, 2014
Burnham’s Field to reopen with a splash
Ribbon-Cutting this Saturday, Sept. 6, at 9 a.m. to show improvements to central Gloucester’s largest green space and playground
(Gloucester, MA)—Mayor Carolyn Kirk and Ward 2 City Councilor Melissa Cox invite Gloucester residents to the reopening of the Burnham’s Field Playground on Saturday Sept. 6, 2014. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. followed by a ceremonial “first splash” at the playground’s new spray fountain
The renovation of Burnham’s Field, the largest green space and playground in central Gloucester, is the first major reconstruction of Burnham’s Field in 30 years. The renovation includes two new playgrounds, swings, a spray pad for kids, resurfaced basketball courts, new trees and benches, and a paved path around the field for walking, jogging or riding. The renovation follows the creation of the Burnham’s Field Community Garden in 2011, part of a five-year effort to turn one of Gloucester’s most heavily used fields and playgrounds into a more beautiful, welcoming place for families, children and neighbors.
Mayor Kirk expressed her appreciation for all the hard work that went in to making this improvement happen. “The reopening of the Burnham’s Field Playground culminates a five-year effort by the City and the neighborhood to create a more family-friendly atmosphere for Burnham’s Field. Families with children will enjoy the expanded playground and new spray fountain. Residents of all ages will enjoy the paved pathways and benches that make the Field accessible to all residents.”
Gloucester’s Community Development Department secured state, federal and City Community Preservation grants to fund the project. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Natural Resource Damage program is providing $195,000 towards the $565,000 project cost. The balance of $370,000 is being funded with Federal Community Development Block Grant funds and City Community Preservation Funds.
John McElhenny, a neighbor of Burnham’s Field, said the renovation showed how Gloucester residents and the City can work together. “The renovation of Burnham’s Field shows that in Gloucester, green spaces matter and getting outside and running and playing matter,” said McElhenny, who noted that the new Friends of Burnham’s Field are welcoming donations of trees, park benches and picnic tables to beautify the field. “This renovation is a wonderful first step in making Burnham’s Field a park that every Gloucester resident can be proud of.”
David W. Cash, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, congratulated the City and neighborhood on the success of the project. “We’re happy that residents of all ages can go out and enjoy the outdoor environment that our agency works so diligently to protect. We’re pleased that Gloucester was able to utilize one-time-only funds from a court-ordered landfill closure project to help clean-up a field that was often overlooked in the past.”
About the City of Gloucester
America’s oldest seaport, the City of Gloucester is known throughout the world as an authentic, working waterfront community, a place of spectacular natural beauty, and home to a diverse population of about 30,000 residents. An important center for the fishing industry, Gloucester also is proud of its rich art heritage as one of the premier art colonies in the United States. The City is a destination for thousands of visitors who visit the harbor and its beaches during the summertime. In recent years, Gloucester has diversified its traditional maritime economy, adding leading small research institutions such as the UMass Amherst Large Pelagics Research Laboratory and the Ocean Alliance to the array of state and federal agencies working in the city, and with investments in robotics and new product development from the fishery.
Contact: Tom Daniel, Community Development Department Director, 978-281-9781.
Stephen Winslow, Sr. Project Manager 978-282-8007
Good Morning Gloucester 
Melissa ;
I just wrote this for the Rededication of Burnham’ s Field. I hope you can use it. If you need to change anything its alright. I’m still in Den Mar Rehab but may be coming home soon. I am told I most likely will be on feeding tube the rest of my life.
They also found a mass on my pancreas , but my doctor said leave it be I would not survive the procedure,of course he is a Holistic doctor. It is said as long as I stick to six teaspoons of food per day and the feeding tube I should be O.K. So here you go. Good Luck I might even get to go.
Re Birth of Burnham’s Field
By Peter A. Todd 09/05/2014
Poet Laureate of Gloucester 8/2014 – 2018
We gather this day with families and friends
To rededicate this neighborhood Field of Dreams
With our own personal thoughts never to end
On just what Gloucester’s Burnham Field means
It represents the hard work of our past and today
So children and neighbors can be safe and off the street
Teaching our young the true and fair way
In the challenges of games to win or except defeat
A place where little children can have loads of fun
On all the new slides or swings of their choice
In spring and summers longer days just begun
To hear their laughter or the excitement in each child’s voice
Burnham’s Field a land that many Veteran’s had lived
Also a place of our own growing years of our past
May from this day bring pride and commitment to give
Dedication of love and care so that this our own Field of Dreams
will last.
..
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Very nice and a job well dont to the entire team for bring this field back! 🙂 Dave & Kim:-)
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