Friends of Peabody Square

Friends of Peabody Square Public-spirited neighbors dedicated to maintaining and enlivening Dorchester's Ashmont area public spaces since 1973. Please follow on twitter

Peabody Square is a Dorchester MA intersection where Ashmont Street, Talbot Avenue, and Dorchester Avenue meet. The locale was named Peabody Square in 1893 by the Boston City Council to honor Colonel Oliver Peabody (1834-1896) - a tower clock and granite horse trough were installed as beautiful and useful civic monuments to help identify the public square. The Friends of Peabody Square started in

1973 when a group of Dorchester residents started informal meetings weekly on Fridays at Englewood Diner. They'd discuss ways to clean up the Square, including taking down a chain link fence around the clock at that time. The group was re-invigorated in 1993 by Dorchester attorney and civic activist Charlie Tevnan (as the Peabody Square Centennial Committee) in order to help coordinate a series of events and small improvements to help mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Square. In 1999 the Friends of Peabody Square (FoPS) re-formed once again to lobby for Browne Fund grant monies to restore the 1910 architect-designed Peabody Square Clock; restoration was completed in 2002. FoPS also received Browne Fund support to re-landscape the park area around the Clock with the 1899 granite horse trough commemorating Col. Oliver Peabody. In 2005 FoPS partnered with the Dorchester Arts Collaborative and St Marks Area Main Street to create and manage an extensive public art community process for the Square, and then helped raise the funds to install the selected Sleeping Moon sculpture by Joseph Wheelwright on the MBTA plaza in front of Ashmont Station, which was dedicated in October 2010. The Sleeping Moon sculpture marked the winding down of extensive construction in and around Peabody Square - with resulting brand-new Ashmont T station and adjacent transit-oriented mixed use Carruth Building. Another re-design of the park surrounding the clock and horse trough accompanied a thorough traffic-calming re-vamp of the Square which included closing off part of Bushnell Street and a new plaza created to re-direct and slow down Talbot Avenue traffic. The new green spaces created include a City of Boston cutting-edge stormwater retention pilot project and other green, complete streets infrastructure. In 2011, as the construction in Peabody Square was coming to an end, it seemed to many in the community that it was time to expand the Friends group's scope. FoPS works closely with St Marks Area Main Streets to oversee the physical condition of the area and develop programs to help create a dynamic public space.

Ashmont Block Party--This Saturday, June 17th, 1-5pm, in Peabody Square at All Saints Church parking lot!
06/15/2023

Ashmont Block Party--This Saturday, June 17th, 1-5pm, in Peabody Square at All Saints Church parking lot!

We are throwing our 2nd Annual Ashmont Block Party on Saturday June 17th at the All Saints Church, 209 Ashmont St, Dorchester MA.

Hooray for the Peabody Square Clock--getting the recognition it deserves--historic, and usually on time!
06/15/2023

Hooray for the Peabody Square Clock--getting the recognition it deserves--historic, and usually on time!

There are stopped or wrong clocks in Dover, Concord, Brookline, and Newton. In the South End, the North End, Roxbury, and Beacon Hill. They are affixed to churches, hardware stores, historic landmarks, and an optician’s office.

Harvard Glee Club returns to Peabody Square--Sun 3/26, 4:00pm--details below!
03/21/2023

Harvard Glee Club returns to Peabody Square--Sun 3/26, 4:00pm--details below!

The Harvard/Ashmont Evening Service (2022) for SATB & TTBB Choruses & Two Organs by Dan Locklair World Premiere Thursday, March 23, 2023 | 5:30 PM | Harvard Memorial Church, 1 Harvard Yard,...

It's Back!!!
05/20/2021

It's Back!!!

In case anyone was wondering....

Please support the important work of Greater Ashmont Main Street by making a donation today!
12/01/2020

Please support the important work of Greater Ashmont Main Street by making a donation today!

Starting on and throughout the month of December, Greater Ashmont Main Street is running an Annual Appeal. Take a moment to learn more about the work your local Boston Main Streets organization has been doing to support the Greater Ashmont community in these unprecedented times. https://conta.cc/3msRJ6S

Investing your money in our small but impactful local institutions reaps the biggest impact today and ripples into all of our tomorrows.

09/18/2020

Jenn Cartee will be a hard act to follow, but Greater Ashmont Main Street is seeking a new Executive Director...spread the word!

06/24/2020

This Saturday, June 27, Greater Ashmont Main Street has organized a day-long (9am-3pm) planting project for the East and West Plazas in Peabody Square. Neighbors are invited and encouraged to help with this effort, which involves removal of some old plant materials and replanting/refurbishing/mulching of planting beds and planters. (The project was originally scheduled for May 30 but had to be cancelled along with so many other things.)
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The project has been organized so everyone can work in as safe and socially distant a way as possible. There are three two-hour shifts, starting at 9am and ending at 3pm. You sign up for a specific shift for a specific color-coded work area within the Square; the schedule and designated work areas limit the number of people in any given work area at any given time. Instructions will be provided and questions answers by volunteer supervisors, who will be on hand all day. Everyone is asked to wear masks.
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Small hand tools, wheelbarrows, tarps, other yard tools, gloves, and bags for trash and yard waste will be provided, but volunteers should bring their own tools and gloves if they’d like. Everyone is also encouraged to bring water, sunscreen, hats, or whatever they need to be comfortable during their shift.
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The attached plan shows the color-coded work areas, where volunteers should check in when they arrive, and the tasks to be completed for each area.
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Following is a link to the sign-up schedule. Time slots are color-coded to correspond to the work areas on the plan. Simply fill in your name and contact info in the available time slot of your choice.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11HsVsZvjY3FflzooF2OHwLUHaYr1L2vV7zcJXOcYABc/edit?usp=sharing
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Green thumb or not, please consider pitching in to help on Saturday. Thanks!

03/21/2020

Happy Birthday, J.S. Bach! There is a concert of some of his organ music being streamed today at noon from the Parish of All Saints in Peabody Square. Check it out!

Farmers Market opens Friday, June 28!
06/19/2019

Farmers Market opens Friday, June 28!

Watch for this year's Ashmont Farmers Market poster appearing throughout the neighborhood over the next few days. Opening day of our 11th season is coming soon! The market will be open on the Ashmont Station - MBTA Red Line plaza every Friday 3-7pm from June 28 through October 18 -- Opening Ribbon 6/28 at 4pm. Please stop by!

Thank you to our 2019 season sponsors:
Boston Main Streets
Boston Main Streets Foundation
Codman Square Health Center
Eastern Bank
Fields Corner Business Lab
MBTA
Martin Richard Foundation
Trinity Financial/Trinity Management LLC
UMass Boston
Vargas & Vargas Insurance Agency
1970 Dorchester Avenue LLC

Your support, and the work of all our amazing volunteers, are what makes this vibrant urban farmers market possible.

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Address

Dorchester Avenue At Ashmont St
Dorchester Center, MA
02124

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