Dewey Square in a new light

Designed for the night. (George Rizer/Globe Staff/File)

DEWEY SQUARE, the area around South Station, is so far the most disappointing section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. It needs a quick burst of excitement, which could be provided by lighting the four entrances to the Red Line station after dark.

The entrances, called headhouses, are made of frosted glass so that they would glow with internal light. They were built in accordance with a master plan commissioned by the abutters and designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates five years ago. Open since 2005, they have never been lit except for a brief test. Urban amenities have a low priority at the MBTA, whose chief objective understandably is to move people around town.

But imagine the possibilities if someone got them glowing - white for most of the year with maybe a splash of red for Christmas, or even green when the Celtics win an NBA championship. Dewey Square could use a bit of whimsy to soften its concrete.

The master plan helped shape the redesign of open space outside the Federal Reserve Building and One Financial Center. Its chief element was a winter garden that was supposed to mask the Central Artery vent building. The garden building, however, is probably too expensive ever to be built.

It will take a while for a consensus to develop about permanent use of the winter-garden space, but in the meantime, the abutters shouldn't neglect less elaborate amenities. No one has determined how much the lighting will cost, but it can't be prohibitive. The Greenway, even with its present, tentative look, has increased the value of Dewey Square properties. A contribution to a lighting fund would enhance property owners' investments and show their civic-mindedness.

Tim Love, a member of the architectural team responsible for the headhouses, said they were modeled after lanterns designed by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. His aim, Noguchi once wrote, was to transform "the harshness of electricity" into the warmth of the sun. Dewey Square would benefit from a similar softening.