For press & media inquiries, please contact Kathy McMahon | National Development at kmcmahon@NatDev.com.
Transforming the Underbelly of Route 93 in a Public Art Space
WCVB Boston April 29, 2021
Chronicle’s Ted Reinstein shares little-known stories from around our area including a highway underpass in Boston transformed into a gallery of murals by world-renowned artists.
10 New England travel joys we are thankful for this year
Boston Globe November 18, 2020
We were as happy as anyone when museums were finally able to cautiously reopen their galleries, but thanks to outdoor art in its various permutations, we were still able to experience beauty, whimsy, and wonder throughout the lockdown. That included the vibrant, edgy urban murals at Underground at Ink Block in the South End and the pastoral idyll of often gigantic artworks in the landscape of Lincoln’s deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.
What is public art even for?’ New works suggest a transformation on culture and shared space
Boston Globe September 3, 2020
If not materially, then surely philosophically. A lot of public art is pretty — distracting, decorative pablum, though that’s been changing for years. The pandemic, and the social justice issues it brought forward, make the slow burn of change a sudden inferno. Messages become more blunt, change more urgent. At Underground at Ink Block, the evolving outdoor street-art museum under I-93 in South Boston, artists have been chipping at issues of race and inequity for years.
Best of Boston 2020: Best Outdoor Museum Experience
Boston Magazine August 2020
Take a stroll underneath the I-93 overpass between the South End and Southie, and you’ll discover the city’s most exhilarating art exhibit. Sprawled over 8 acres, the once-desolate zone now features 18 murals, nine of which were added last summer. Highlighting local artists such as Silvia López Chavez, national ones like Def Jam’s founding creative director Cey Adams, and international ones including Spain’s Muro, the concrete, metal, and asphalt burst with color and forward-thinking vision.
Bloomberg Philanthropies Launches Asphalt Art Initiative,
Providing Cities How-To Guidance to Transform Streets and Public Spaces with Artwork
Bloomberg.org October 28, 2019
Bloomberg Philanthropies launches the Asphalt Art Initiative which will assist cities looking to use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage their communities. The Initiative includes the publication of the Asphalt Art Guide, with case studies and best practices from cities around the world, as well as the awarding of grants up to $25,000 to 10 small and mid-sized U.S. cities to implement their own transformative projects.
Colorful Street Transformations Coming to 10 U.S. Cities
Curbed.com October 28, 2019
Over the last decade, U.S. cities have carved out dozens of public plazas from existing streets using little more than paint. A new grant program and guide announced today by Bloomberg Philanthropies will fund the creation of 10 street murals in 10 U.S. cities, as well as track the safety, economic, and civic impact of these projects.
Donuts will Descend in the South End at the Boston Donut Fest
Boston.com July 11, 2019
Summer food festivals are well underway, but if you aren’t able to make it to the Boston Pizza Festival on Saturday and Sunday, there’s still time to squeeze in a major food frenzy before the end of the month: the Boston Donut Fest. Held on July 28 at the South End’s Underground at Ink Block space beneath an I-93 overpass, the event sounds like a bastion for dessert fiends, and will highlight doughnuts from more than 10 major Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine doughnut shops.
Celebrate New Murals at Underground at Ink Block with DJs, Fitness, and Food Trucks
Boston Magazine June 28, 2019
Underground at Ink Block, the eight acre underpass that the Ink Block developers transformed into an urban park two years ago, will be sporting a fresh coat of paint starting this weekend, thanks to the park’s 2019 Mural Project. The project called upon an A-list of street artists from around the world to deck out the underpass with bold, dynamic murals, and the team has been hard at work completing their paint jobs this week.
Take A Look At The 8 New Murals Inside Boston's Underground At Ink Block
WBUR June 28, 2019
Under the sprawling concrete where I-90 and I-93 meet, a Boston street art scene is beginning to come into focus. Cars run overhead day and night; in the cover below, bikes pass by and folks walk their dogs. There's an energy running through this eight-acre park that's inescapable — and it's bigger than the excitement that a few new murals bring.
Marvel at eight new murals at this South End block party
Boston.com June 28, 2019
Underground at Ink Block has become an eight-acre attraction including pedestrian boardwalks, bicycle paths, a dog park, and lots of art. Local and national artists have been at work decorating the area, and it all culminates with a block party on Saturday. Art, food trucks, and music will color the June 29 event celebrating the 2019 Underground Mural Project.
5 Things To Do This Weekend, From A Mural Party To A 'Keanu-Thon'
WBUR June 27, 2019
School is out, the weather is getting hotter and pre-Fourth of July jubilation is in full swing. Whether you love films, a good outing to a museum or want to spend the day outside, there's lots of things to do this weekend in Boston and beyond.
Underground at Ink Block debuts 2019 murals
BayStateBanner June 26, 2019
On June 29, Underground at Ink Block will debut its new series of murals, in collaboration with Street Theory and National Development. The 2019 Underground Mural Project features nine new works by local, national and international artists including Indie184, Greg Lamarche, Dana Woulfe, Silvia Lopez Chavez, Muro, Go-Five, Marka27 and Matthew Zaremba.
Underground Mural Project gets underway in Boston
June 21, 2019
The area underneath I-93 will see eight new murals from local and international painters next week as part of an installation that artists and high-end developers say bridges their communities. The second Underground Mural Project kicks off Monday, as eight artists will spend the week installing new murals at the Underground Ink Park next to the Ink Block development, culminating with a block party on Saturday.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Street Theory present ‘Urban renaissance: Alternative visions of a city through street art, creative economy and community’
May 28, 2019
Originally unveiled in 2017, the Underground Mural Project at Ink Block transforms more than 100,000 square feet of Boston’s underutilized walls into a unique urban park and visual playground. On June 29, the 2019 Mural Project will introduce eight new murals to the park from local, national and internationally renowned street artists. The immense art project is presented by National Development and curated by the creative agency Street Theory, whose co-founder Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is one of the Gardner Museum’s Neighborhood Salon Luminaries.
This Architect Looked at an Abandoned, Litterls Parking Lot Under a Highway and Saw Something Beautiful
February 27, 2019
Completed in 2017, Adam’s design revolutionized a parking lot in Boston’s Ink Block neighborhood that was nestled under a web of highway on- and off-ramps, neighboring train track junctures, and a waterway. What was once a parking lot is now home to a basketball court, pedestrian walkways, and space for community theater performances. The Ink Block project won over a jury of architects and city planners to nab the 2019 Regional and Urban Design award.
Lysten Boston unveils ‘Underground Sounds’ under I-93 at Ink Block
Vanyaland July 26, 2018
Lysten Boston has announced a rad free show going down August 17, and not only is the homegrown line-up all kinds of solid, but it’s also hosted in a rather unique space. So unique that a) there’s never been live show there before, and b) the space didn’t even exist a few years ago.
Why You Shouldn’t Overlook South Boston
WSJ Magazine November 6, 2018
In the Massachusetts capital, rapidly changing “Southie” has a new lease on life. Underground at Ink Block. Beneath an overpass, this eight-acre park has some 150,000 SF of graffiti art.
The Underground at Ink Block is a Space for Art, Bike, Fitness Classes, & More
Fitt Boston May 2018
As the weather warms up in Boston, it’s time to hit the streets once again for all the best outdoor hot spots. You know we boast about the Common, Charles River Esplanade, The Greenway, Christopher Columbus Park, but unless you spend a lot of time running around the freeway, you may not know about Underground at Ink Block.
Underground at Ink Blog Post: IMAGINE – City of Boston 2018 artist-in-residence (AIR) 1.10.2018
Congratulations to Underground mural artist IMAGINE (aka Sneha Shrestha) for being as one of the City of Boston’s 2018 artist-in-residence (AIR). In the program, artists, community members, and City employees work on projects that help reframe social conversations. These artists explore the ways they can use art and media to improve and bolster City initiatives. They also search for ways to make artistic social practice a part of government and community work.
IMAGINE’s art incorporates mindful mantras in her native language and meshes the aesthetics of Sanskrit scriptures with graffiti influences. Follow IMAGINE on Instagram at imagine876 to check out more of her amazing work or come down to Underground to see it in person!
Underground at Ink Block Launches New Urban Art Destination in Boston
Juxtapoz Magazine 9.19.2017
Underground at Ink Block is nestled beneath the bustling overpass of the I-93 which separates South Boston from the South End, and now represents a unifying new point of interest for the two neighborhoods and aims to be a cultural landmark with potential to gain international acclaim as an Urban Art destination. Read more.
Underground at Ink Block a Smash
South End News 9.14.2017
On Saturday, September 4th, Underground at Ink Block has debuted the transformation of the 8-acre underpass located between Boston's South End and South Boston neighborhoods into an active urban park, cultural attraction and parking amenity. Landscaped pedestrian boardwalks and bicycle paths along the Fort Point Channel create new connections between communities previously separated by highway infrastructure. Visitors enjoy amenities such as world-class street art, a dog park, curated retail, fitness, food and beverage experiences as well as a bike storage facility, 24-hour security, 175 commercial parking spots & more. Underground at Ink Block is centrally located steps away from Boston's Downtown and easily accessible via public transit, just steps away from the Broadway T stop.
Underground Mural Project in Boston: Hoxxoh, Marka27, Don Rimx, Problak, Cey Adams, Vyal One, Percy Fortini-Wright, Imagine & Upendo
Street Art NYC 9.12.2017
This past Saturday, September 9th, Boston’s new urban playground, Underground at Ink Block, officially opened to the pubic. Earlier in the week, eleven acclaimed artists — both local and national — converged on this distinct space, located under the highway between the city’s South Boston and South End neighborhoods. By week’s end, 100,000 square feet of walls were transformed into a visual wonderland. The mural pictured above was painted by Miami-based Hoxxoh. What follows are several more images of artworks — some captured in progress — that have made their way onto Underground at Ink Block. Read more.
Outside the Spray paint
Dig Boston 9.12.2017
If you’ve ever taken a quick walk around Boston, you’ve seen the amazing splashes of color brightening up the sides of old-school bodegas and newly developed high-rises alike. Street art and graffiti have always been a part of the cultural landscape. As artist Moses Mitchell put it during the Streets Art Talking panel this past Thursday: Since humanity’s emergence, “we’ve always written on walls to communicate our stories.” Only recently have major artistic institutions recognized the heavy cultural significance of the art that graces our cityscapes. Read more.
Ink Block Park New Boston Hot Spot
Boston Herald 9.10.2017
Boston’s newest park opened yesterday in probably the city’s most unexpected place: under an Interstate 93 overpass.
Underground at Ink Block, a new 8-acre park sandwiched between the South End and South Boston, celebrated its grand opening with a daylong block party. “We’ve tried to be that devel- oper who does things a little outside the box,” said Ted Tye, managing partner at National Development, the company responsible for the park. Read more.
Underground GetDown - Opening Day Block Party
Carpe Diem 9.9.2017
We're celebrating the first annual 'Underground GetDown' block party and unveiling of over 150,000 sq ft of newly transformed mural walls by today's most influential street-artists. Enjoy an ice cold Sierra Nevada at the Loco Beer Garden with DJ's Gucci Vuitton & Braun Dapper spinning hip hop, house, funk and soul, plus Epic ping pong, lawn games, food trucks and more!
A special thanks to all our sponsors & partners including Reebok National Development, Sierra Nevada, Dirty Water Media, Capital One Café, Ink Block Boston Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar, Baroo The Container Yard, Street Theory & KP Strategies.
Underground at Ink Block, Boston’s newest park, opening under I-93 overpass
Curbed Boston 9.8.2017
Boston’s newest park—the Underground at Ink Block at 90 Traveler Street, beneath an I-93 overpass in the South End—will open Saturday, September 9.
Cey Adams Lynn Mural Gets a Sequel in Boston
Item 9.8.2017
LYNN — Just as he had done this July in Lynn, artist Cey Adams broke out the spray paint to turn another wall into art at Boston's new Underground at Ink Block Park.
"Every time I'm working on a wall the wall behaves differently," said Adams, describing one the key differences of working in Lynn and Boston.
New ‘cultural playground’ park in South End, South Boston set to open Saturday
The Daily Free Press 9.7.2017
Underground at Ink Block, a new community park that will feature several murals by prominent urban artists, is set to open this Saturday, according to a press release from Ink Block.
Boston Gets an Artsy New Public Space in a Former No-Man’s Land
Boston Globe 9.7.2017
To get to Boston’s newest park you must either cross a bridge above the massive railyard between South Boston and the South End, or navigate busy Albany Street, where the commuters stack up at onramps to the Southeast Expressway and the bridges quake with rumbling trucks. Once you make that crossing, you’ll find a ribbon of colors painted on the sidewalk. Follow it, and you’ll wind up in a world of green trees, brown boardwalks, and soaring, swooping, concrete — the underside of that massive highway and its onramps, whirring with traffic. Look around, and you’ll see brand-new street murals that use all that concrete as a canvas — and soon, its designers hope, people. They’ll be passing through, exercising, eating, or just hanging out in a place that had long been forgotten.
South End Urban Playground Hosts Free Block Party this Weekend
Metro 9.6.2017
Even the mightiest of projects finds improvement from prettying up those dark corners.
After the additions of apartments, condos and retail to the former Boston Herald headquarters in the South End, the not-quite-finished, six-acre Ink Block development will celebrate the opening of a new urban park called the Underground on Saturday. This weekend’s block party introduces this eight-acre space and public art project in what used to be a freeway underpass.
8 Acre Blighted Area in Boston Transform into Cultural Playgroun
Street Art United States
Underground at Ink Block is the successful transformation of an 8-acre underpass located between Boston’s South End and South Boston neighborhoods into an active urban park, cultural attraction and parking amenity.
Underground at Ink Block to be Unveiled
Color Magazine 9.5.2017
National Development, developer of Ink Block, today announced details for opening of Boston’s newest urban park, Underground at Ink Block, including an exciting public art project. Underground at Ink Block is the successful transformation of an 8-acre underpass located between Boston’s South End and South Boston neighborhoods into an active urban park, cultural attraction and parking amenity. Landscaped pedestrian boardwalks and bicycle paths along the Fort Point Channel create new connections between communities previously separated by highway infrastructure.
Read more.
Murals are popping up in the South End
The Improper 9.5.2017
If you have been around the Ink Block neighborhood recently, chances are you have begun to notice the transformation along Traveler Street that connects the South End to South Boston. While some might see a concrete jungle, National Development, the developer behind Ink Block, saw a blank canvas. In partnership with Reebok, National Development has brought together some influential street artists to help transform more than 150,000 square feet of concrete into murals along the underpass as part of a project to develop the city’s newest urban park and help bridge the two neighborhoods. Underground at Ink Block will be unveiled to the public at the Underground GetDown block party on Saturday, Sept. 9. We chatted with the artists ahead of the park’s opening on their style, vision and inspiration for bringing art to the streets.
Caught In Southie 9.3.2017
Art Underground! Celebrate the Underground Mural Project on Saturday, September 9th from 2pm-6pm. Stop by 90 Travelerfor food, fitness, art, beer and music!
17 Events Worth Checking Out in September
BostInno 9.1.2017
September 9 — 2 p.m. — 90 Traveler Street — The folks behind the Ink Block development have transformed the space under I-93 between South Boston and the South End, and you’re invited to the unveiling of new murals by some of today’s most popular and influential street-artists. While there, grab a drink at the Loco Beer Garden and a bite at the food trucks all while DJ’s Gucci Vuitton & Braun Dapper work the 1’s and 2’s. Free.
Innovative Ink Underground Park to Open Sept 9
The Boston Sun 8.31.2017
After a number of delays in construction, the new Underground at Ink Block park beneath the Expressway in the South End will open with a colossal artistic celebration on Saturday, Sept. 9.
The opening is the culmination of a partnership between the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and National Development, the developer of Ink Block adjacent to the new park. It will unleash eight-acres of parkland, 175 new parking spots, boardwalks connecting the park, a new dog park, a waterfront walkway and a cutting-edge graffiti mural installation.
Underground at Ink Block
My South End 8.31.2017
Underground at Ink Block is the transformation of an 8-acre underpass located between Boston's South End and South Boston neighborhoods into an active urban park, cultural attraction and parking amenity. Landscaped pedestrian boardwalks and bicycle paths along the Fort Point Channel create new connections between communities previously separated by highway infrastructure. Visitors enjoy amenities such as world-class street art, a dog park, curated retail, fitness, food and beverage experiences as well as a bike storage facility, 24-hour security, 175 commercial parking spots & more. Underground at Ink Block is centrally located steps away from Boston's Downtown and easily accessible via public transit, just steps away from the Broadway T stop.
Seven Free Fitness Series That Continue Into Fall
Boston Magazine 8.30.2017
Ink Block and Capital One are hosting an outdoor fitness series in the new Underground at Ink Block park. Bootcamps will be led by popular instructors Lauren Hefez, Meagan Fitzgerald, and Chad Flahive. Classes are scheduled for Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m., and you can register at eventbrite.com.
Reebok helps brighten up new Southie park beneath I-93
8.29.2017
Underground at Ink Block was developed as part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Infra-Space program, which aims to activate underutilized infrastructure spaces throughout the commonwealth.
Caught in Southie: A new park under 93
4.6.2017
This summer, you’ll find us hanging underneath the southeast expressway. Before you judge and think we’ve hit skid row, know that the underpass is undergoing a major transformation.
Boston Is Now Building Public Parks Under Interstate Highways
Architectural Digest 4.6.2017
On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and National Development announced plans for Ink Underground, an urban park that will span eight acres partially under Boston's Interstate 93. Stretching from Albany Street to the Fort Point Channel, the park will serve as a connector between the South End and South Boston neighborhoods via pedestrian boardwalks, art and cultural installations, and bicycle paths along the channel.
Ink Underground coming in May
South End News 4.5.2017
National Development, developer of Ink Block, today announced details of Ink Underground, a new urban park that extends from Albany Street to Fort Point Channel. On track for completion in May 2017, the project will transform 8-acres of underutilized space located between Boston's South End and South Boston neighborhoods into an active urban park, cultural attraction and mixed-use parking facility.
A Park Beneath the I-93 Overpass Will Open in June
Boston Magazine 4.5.2017
Soon, the grey concrete expanse that splits the South End from South Boston will become an urban park, complete with grass, plants, boardwalks, and bike paths.
The new park, called Ink Underground, is scheduled to open under the 1-93 overpass in June. It will stretch eight acres—from Albany Street to the Fort Point Channel—featuring public art, food and drink pop-ups, a bike storage facility, a dog park, and events like fitness classes and artisan markets. The park’s first graffiti and street art festival will kick off on June 10th.
Southeast Expressway park will fill in underpass, create urban wonderland
Curbed Boston 4.5.2017
National Development, the developer behind the South End’s Ink Block, and the state Transportation Department plan to open a new park in June underneath the Southeast Expressway near the massive residential project.
The developer will landscape a portion of the current paved, vacant surfaces to create public space for fitness classes, concerts, corporate gatherings, and other events, per the Globe’s Tim Logan.
A park beneath the highway? One is coming to the South End
The Boston Globe 4.5.2017
A dark and dreary no man’s land beneath the Southeast Expressway will soon be remade into Boston’s newest urban playground. National Development has set a June opening date for the new park — and a new parking lot — on eight acres between its Ink Block complex in the South End and the end of Fort Point Channel on the other side of the highway. Most of the site is an empty paved surface under the highway, between Herald and Traveler streets.
Fun Under the Freeway: Park to Seize Upon the Trend Recreation in Lost Spaces
The Boston Sun 6.17.2016
For the longest time, no one wanted to be under the highway. Huge concrete columns, the buzz of fast-moving automobiles overhead and shady areas (figuratively and literally) didn’t lend to anyone’s idea of space that could be used for anything. Now, that’s all different as cities nationwide look to grab space under bridges and freeways and turn it into something useful.
Ink Block's Builder has Big Plans for Park Beneath I-93
Boston Herald 6.11.2016
Infraspace at Ink Block — a new Boston park with a boardwalk, waterside performance space, half-court basketball court, pedestrian and bike paths, dog park and community and cultural event space — is slated to debut in October under the elevated portion of the Interstate 93/Southeast Expressway, long a blighted, crime-ridden pocket of the city.
South End Market Plans To Thrive Beneath I-93 Overpass
Boston Magazine 10.07.2015
Yesterday, in response to the Globe‘s report that the two parties comprising the South End cultural phenomenon known as SoWa would split at the end of the month, we declared that the South End Open Market’s planned move to a lot beneath the I-93 overpass in 2017 would make it “suck.” This, predictably, upset some folks.
MassDOT Gives the Green Light for Building Park Space Beneath I-93
BostInno 06.25.2015
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that the green light has been given to proceed with the next step to develop state owned land situated beneath a section of the I-93 overpass that cuts through the South End. Residents can expect new greenery, streetscape accessibility and improvements along Fort Point Channel.
Mass Seeking News ideas for the Underutilized Overpass
Boston Globe 08.24.2014
Who knew that those shadowy swaths of land underneath highway overpasses could be prime real estate?
Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation made a request for proposalsfor their new “Infra-Space” initiative — a wonky way of saying “figure out something useful to do with all those sketchy places underneath the highway.”