Mayor Thomas Menino Park, Charlestown @ Spaulding Rehad

For two decades, Mayor Menino understood our natural and essential need for open space and cultivated a city wrapped in gardens, playgrounds, greenways and parks, and like the tangled roots of a bed of Lily of the Valley, the city is cushioned by a beautiful, intoxicating groundcover. Like a gardener who has found the perfect spot for the perfect flower, Mayor Menino looked out his window of the Spaulding Rehad in Charlestown where he was under care, and saw the perfect spot for a park that patients and families could enjoy, and for a time, forget their physical limitations and challenges.

After all, every parent should be able to push their child on a swing or hold their child's hand down a slide, and every child should be able to feel the thrill and pride when rocking a seesaw or spinning on a merry-go-round. At his last and poignant ribbon cutting ceremony, Mayor Menino said, "The park here at Spaulding reflects my commitment to build a city that works for all of our people, not just some of our people." There are no limits to the imagination of any child at the Mayor Menino Park.