We’re just going to say it, since the closing of the Kelley School, the Bartlet Mall is under utilized. We don’t mean this as a political statement, we’re not going to rehash the school configuration, there are many other spots that do that. We are merely pointing out that there used to be kids running all around Frog Pond, learning about eco-systems, sketching the trees, or sledding down the hills after school. It seems quieter to us now, we hope with the new Kelly School Youth Center we start to see more kids running around the paths again. Bartlet Mall is really one of the city’s finest jewels,if you haven’t been, let us show you around…
Located on High street, the Bartlet Mall is flanked by the Kelly School and the Superior Courthouse. There are beautiful weeping willows, wide gravel paths, and of course Frog pond. It all makes for a lovely spot to spend time with a book or a picnic.
There are always shady spots and the rustle of the trees and visual textures and layers of color make for a feast for the eyes. The deep gray/blue of the water against the soft brown gravel, set below the deep green of the grass and the soft moss green of the willows, it’s the kind of place you could imagine a writer taking inspiration from, but it’s such community stronghold. You are very likely to run into a friend or neighbor, more likely than Henry David Thoreau anyway…
We will most likely visit Bartlet Mall again for another Park Sunday. It’s the type of place that changes so much with each season. It’s hard to say when we like it best, but we were there just at dusk the other night. The sun was at it’s highest point in the sky, the water was glistening, the ducks were waddling around the paths and there were groups of folks huddled together chatting, reading, and walking. What could be nicer?
