Views – Friends of Albemarle

House Shout Out

This house is a gem that lights up Albemarle right now. Hats off to the careful decoration that transformed it to a slowly changing beacon of color, adding joy to everyone’s nighttime walk.

First Days of the Synthetic Turf in Action

By mid-October, the new synthetic turf at Albemarle was in full swing, being used for field hockey, football, flag football, and selfies. Features a swanky cleat cleaner among other bells and whistles. This is the fourth —and likely final, for the foreseeable future— synthetic turf installation in Newton. It replaces the most heavily used grassContinue reading “First Days of the Synthetic Turf in Action”

Soaking in the Murals

As co-founder and president of Friends of Albemarle, a nonprofit for an urban park, I often reflect that the pay is zero but the reward is community, so it’s a pretty good gig. One benefit: Being part of the Spark Newton mural selection committee and advocating for the mural art of Amanda Bradley Hill. IContinue reading “Soaking in the Murals”

Construction: views of Albemarle along Crafts Street

A literal snapshot in time of the ever-changing landscape of the Albemarle fields, paths, wetlands and flood mitigation project which is in the middle of Phase 1. With 12 months to go, the North field (seen here) is still expected to be playable by mid-September.

The Best Kind of Blues

#views for days…and weeks…and months. The Gath Pool is open every day from June 19-August 30 this year and has been a source of freedom, delight and community the whole time! Thank you Sean, Heather and the entire staff for making this a safe and beautiful season.

Fantastic Fourth at Albemarle

Thousands of people cheered the massive fireworks display at Albemarle. Despite the construction, the show went on! It was a beautiful, joyful night.

Field House Fielding Compliments

Well, just take a GANDER at this chic stop on the Albemarle tour!! The new windows are an eyeful from the street, and Newton Building Commissioner Josh Morse says that improvements also include the restrooms (yes!!), masonry, lighting, ceiling, flooring, roof… Wow! Build a good field and a good Field House will come! I’m prettyContinue reading “Field House Fielding Compliments”

Albemarlengineering

Work is underway to mitigate the effects of climate change by accommodating flooding under the field at Albemarle. It’s a fascinating feat of engineering that models the way for how we can adapt…and it’s pretty cool to watch the progress.

18 Months In: Back-in parking worked all fall, winter and continues into spring

To Mayor Fuller and the Newton City Council, I’m reaching out to share the success, at Albemarle, of back-in parking. I know we’ve shared it before, and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time, but I have learned that we need to speak up about the positive wins rather than take them for granted. InContinue reading “18 Months In: Back-in parking worked all fall, winter and continues into spring”

Field Notes: Friends of Albemarle Winter Newsletter 2025

Dear Friends, A brief but link-packed mid-winter update: 1. Construction has begun on the fields! Woohoo! It’s been detailed in our local news, complete with aerial pictures, so linking directly to that: https://figcitynews.com/2025/01/construction-begins-on-renovation-of-north-side-of-albemarle-field We’ve heard questions about the mature trees, especially those magnificent oaks – we all love them, and the designs fully accommodate them, just so youContinue reading “Field Notes: Friends of Albemarle Winter Newsletter 2025”