The National Park Service, in partnership with the US Navy and the USS Constitution Museum, has developed a master development strategy for the Charlestown Navy Yard intended to improve the visitor experience and address deferred maintenance of buildings and facilities within the yard.
Environmental Assessment
The National Park Service has officially launched an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) for two proposed actions under the Master Development Strategy for the Charlestown Navy Yard: (1) Demolition of Hoosac Stores and replacement with a new building that would house and consolidate the USS Constitution Museum and the NPS Visitor Center and (2) Demolition of Building 109 and replacement with an open frame structure to provide shade for visitors, special events, and other amenities. The EA will analyze the effects of these actions on the cultural landscape of the Charlestown Navy Yard and visitor experience. Further detail of the proposed actions can be found HERE.
Environmental Assessment Public Meeting is scheduled for January 18, 2023.
More information on how to join this virtual public meeting will be published soon.
Learn more about this project, the planning process, and opportunities for public comment.
Why here?
The Charlestown Waterfront has been a gateway for hundreds of years, undergoing constant evolution. During the most recent two centuries, the area primarily became a hub of shipbuilding, trade, and national defense. Today, the Navy Yard partners see an opportunity to create a place to tell these stories with our neighbors and visitors, and preserve that past for the future.
What will the Gateway Center and the Master Development Strategy accomplish?
The story of the Navy Yard is unique to Charlestown and Boston. Home to USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, the ship is docked in a place that was a place of innovation and dedication. Dry Dock 1, the Ropewalk, and the Chain Forge are surviving examples of the work required to build and maintain a Navy from the age of sail to the age of steam and steel.
The vision for a new visitor experience and a gateway center will enable the National Park Service, USS Constitution Museum, and USS Constitution to better tell the stories of the nation’s past for generations to come.
How did we get here? The Planning Process, 2017-Present:
The proposed site: The Hoosac Building, 1895-Present:
Master Development Strategy: A Vision for the Future
The Charlestown Navy Yard has proudly served the nation for nearly two hundred years. Here, naval personnel and thousands of civilian workers built, repaired, and supplied warships from the majestic vessels of the nineteenth century to the powerful steel navy that sailed from Boston to defend freedom. Home to USS Constitution since 1897, the Navy Yard now welcomes nearly a million visitors each year.
Today, the Navy Yard is poised to serve a vital community function: as a connector to our heritage and a contributor to contemporary life and learning. The Visitor Experience Plan unveils a forward-looking vision for the Navy Yard. The result of a thorough and consensus-driven process, it is part plan and part provocation. It sees the Navy Yard for the amazing resource that it is and for what it might become. The Visitor Experience Plan strives to project the boundless optimism, ambition, and innovation that has defined the Navy Yard; the home of America’s Ship of State. Join us in transforming the Navy Yard!
The Navy Yard Partners
Questions?
Robert Wilbur
Deputy Superintendent
Boston National Historical Park
robert_wilbur@nps.gov
(617) 242-5636
Sarah Watkins
Senior Vice President & CXO
USS Constitution Museum
swatkins@usscm.org
617.426.1812 ext126