BOSTON – Decades ago, part of Boston’s Franklin Park was home to black bears, grizzly bears and polar bears. This week, the city took a major step toward reviving the old bear dens that have remained unused since the 1970s.
The Boston Parks Commission voted unanimously Monday to transfer management of the bear dens from Zoo New England to the Parks Department. Mayor Michelle Wu said the move is “an opportunity to invest in a corner of the park with great potential.”
The bear dens in Franklin Park
The historic caves are located just north of White Stadium and were part of the old Franklin Park Zoo before moving to its current location. Visitors to the area can still see remnants of the old cages and stone enclosures that “remain a unique architectural feature in the park,” according to the city.
Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection
Community leaders say the city’s action this week means much-needed improvements to the space can begin now.
“The Franklin Park Coalition is excited to see the long-neglected Bear Dens brought to the city,” Rickie Thompson, board chair of the Franklin Park Coalition, said in a statement. “The site has the potential to become a beautiful landscape feature, celebrating an important part of the park’s history, dating back to 1912 – as identified in the bas-relief of two bears surrounding the city seal.”
Franklin Park Action Plan
Wu said the city will seek to implement the Franklin Park Action Plan’s vision for the bear dens, citing a 2022 document that called for community-driven improvements to the 527-acre park.
The plan notes that “the bear dens served as anchor attractions” at the old zoo, but the dens were “left in the woods to decay.”
Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The intention is not to return real bears to the dens. Instead, the plan says restoring the caves could create space for programming such as yoga classes. It also says the city could install much-needed splash pads in the dens, inspired by the “historic bear pools” that bears once swam in.
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department will make “immediate safety and structural” improvements to the dens and then talk to the community about future programming ideas and more improvements, the city said.
