Dear Friends, Albemarle changes daily during this historic spring season – it will never look this way again, and it will not even look like this tomorrow! Last week, I gaped at the gorgeous new basketball court… and then at the lights along the path. Then I thought, wait, PATH?? At that moment, two children bikedContinue reading “Field Notes: Friends of Albemarle Newsletter Spring 2026”
Category Archives: Views
New lights and new path!
So exciting to see the new lights and the new path going in! Already getting some use as a space to bike through the park. Isn’t it cool to see the path being built and to think about all the joyful walks and rolls that will happen here? Creating connection, taking time outside, and movingContinue reading “New lights and new path!”
That One Shade of Lilac
The lilacs in bloom at Albemarle. Breathe in. You can almost smell them. Now breathe out again.
Field Notes: Friends of Albemarle Newsletter Winter 2026
Dear Friends, I was starting to think we’d have to become Friends of the Tundra, but I have it on good authority that the ground is under there somewhere. Construction: How’s it Going?Short answer: Fantastic! The contractors are hard at work and on schedule. Scenes: On the Path to Pathways Gosh That’s A Lot ofContinue reading “Field Notes: Friends of Albemarle Newsletter Winter 2026”
Frosty Albemarle
It’s under there somewhere!
This Turf is Made for Skii’n, and That’s Just What it’ll do, one of these days this turf is gonna
Ok, it’s not really made for skiing. But that did not stop people from skiing on it. Sunset, midday, and probably in the middle of the night. Look, I’m just the messenger. I gotta message.
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.
Friends of Albemarle 