A Park in Somerville, Mass. to honor the musical Hadley family
Become a Friend of Symphony Park by writing to: Luisa Olivera - ( loliveira@somervillema.gov )
An important Hadley home, originally belonging to Henry Hadley's maternal grandfather, was designated an historic site. However, it was allowed to deteriorate past the point of salvage by an owner and ultimately burned down.

The city of Somerville, under Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, obtained the property and over a period of two years created an interesting, beautiful and functional 8,000 sq. ft. park, creating open space in a densely populated area and honoring the Hadleys - not only Henry Hadley, but also his father Samuel Henry Hadley, mother Mary Conant Hadley, brother Arthur Hadley, and his grandfather Samuel Dexter Hadley.

Funding was supplied by a $400,000 grant from the state and $225,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds. Project manager was Luisa Oliveira. The park includes performance and audience spaces that also work for general purposes including sitting, conversing, and enjoying the nieghborhood's vernacular architecture. Design of park benches and other fixtures was derived from musical notation shapes, in an innovative way.

Groundbreaking was held on October 2, 2014. “It’s important because we are the most densely populated city in New England. We want to improve the quality of life and we want people to be within a reasonable walking or biking distance from an unique and flexible open space,” stated Mayor Curtatone.
Overview of Symphony Park (  courtesy Kirk Hiatt, landscape architect ). More details