Best of the New: Spaces

Airport Station

The MBTA's former Airport station in East Boston, a 1950s relic mercifully bulldozed last fall, was about as much fun as taking the redeye to Pittsburgh. Blue Line passengers had to fight through skinny turnstiles, lug their bags down a dumpy staircase, and beg for help, because signage didn't exist. To the T's credit, the new $23 million station, which opened in June, addresses almost every deficiency, short of heating the open-air platforms. (Brrrr!) Best addition: flight information monitors at the front door. This station is downright cool.

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Brattle Arcade

Seven architects and their clients collaborated over five decades to shape the arcade, each adding a chunk as it grew. The result is an outdoor room, a brick-paved gallery with a partial glass roof, connecting Brattle and Mount Auburn streets near Harvard Square. It opens at different spots to a paved plaza, a sloped garden, and the Harvest restaurant.

Charles River Bike Path

Runners, bladers, and bicyclists rejoiced with the improvements to the Cambridge-side stretch of the path between the Harvard and Longfellow bridges. Crosswalks with traffic lights now control cars speeding down Mass. Ave., curbing mad dashes by runners and pedestrians. Near the Longfellow, the sidewalk mercifully widens, and a paved path from Memorial Drive to the Longfellow ended those muddy adventures.

East Cambridge

In East Cambridge's heyday, factories churned out candy, candles, and caskets. Now the largest housing boom there since World War II is transforming about 100 acres near the Lechmere T stop. By about 2025, the rehabilitation of factories and new construction will add 4,500 apartments and condos. One development, the former Haviland candy factory, now being converted into the One First condominium complex, will incorporate a copper kettle salvaged after the last chocolate-covered cherry rolled off the factory line. If only that intoxicating smell could return, too.

Hanover Street View

Only the North End's senior citizens can recall when one could peer down Hanover Street and almost see Scollay Square. But the views of Boston half a century ago weren't nearly as good as they are today - or will be - now that the Central Artery is history. Since the green-trussed monstrosity came down, residents attest that the sun seems brighter, the FleetCenter seems closer, and one can practically wave to Haymarket's food vendors. Boston's skyscrapers, the Zakim Bridge, and the North End's quaint profile have emerged in all their glory. If the Rose Kennedy Greenway ever happens, one word may say it all: bellissimo!

Nashua Street Park

This tranquil spot came out of nowhere last fall, after plywood fences surrounding a longtime Big Dig equipment lot quietly came down, revealing 2.5 acres of tree-lined walkways and benches overlooking the Charles River. Nestled between the Lechmere viaduct and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, the park, with granite sitting stones, landscaped lawns, and stylish street lamps, holds its own against the Esplanade. While North Point Park, across the river, is slated to be the crowning jewel of the Charles River Basin, Nashua Street offers an enticing glimpse of what's to come.   Continued...