A half-dozen years ago, just a few ferries plied waters that were among the filthiest in the nation. Despite decades of effort, the place still stank. Even as recently as two years ago, some marinas were little more than half-full. But as you stand at the end of Long Wharf on a gorgeous day in late June, listening to politicians and businessmen congratulate one another on the opening of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, you know that the change is for real. Crowds gawk as horn-tooting launches jockey for space.
Fireboats launch crystalline geysers of water into clear blue sky and golden sun.
Miraculously, it's more like San Francisco, or San So when speaker after speaker tells you there's been another miracle out there, just over the horizon, the creation of a national park on those islands you've occasionally seen from the Southeast Expressway or the air, you're inclined to believe. You want to believe. Indeed, with terrain ranging from near-wilderness to paved promenades, the Harbor Islands park could become the most significant addition to the Hub's environment since Frederick Law Olmsted designed his Emerald Necklace of parks through the center of the city. Its unique governing and financing structure could become a national model for park development in the 21st century. Or this could be just another grand idea that falls victim to bickering and distrust.