Walsh Park re-opened last Friday morning to great fanfare after a $4 million facelift that boasts well-lighted walking paths, a championship-level softball field, refurbished basketball courts, a splash pad, and even a tennis court that supports a new sport for the city-owned playground: pickle ball.
Interim Parks Commissioner Cathy Baker-Eclipse and Mayor Wu welcomed everyone to the refurbishing that delivered new features while keeping old favorites like the sledding hill along Clancy Road.
“A shout out to the Lower Mills community,” said Baker-Eclipse. “Your input and advocacy shaped this project at every step.”
Added Wu: “What makes this project so special is it was shaped by community vision since 2023. Because of that of that we were able to include walking paths so people can do laps and the beloved sledding hill, along with a new pickle ball court that neighbors requested.”
The project was financed with $3.5 million from the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan and a $500,000 state PARC grant.
The new softball field is perhaps the biggest achievement and the overall spark that started the renovation plans, with new fencing, dugouts, a backstop, new grass and playing surfaces, and a digital scoreboard. The field is in partnership with ADSL Girls Softball, which has not had a top-quality field to play on for decades. This will end that drought, said coaches, and will uplift those who played softball there in the past.
Virginia Benzan and Coach Ann Walsh. Seth Daniel photo
“My mom grew up in Lower Mills and in the ’40s and ‘50s, she played softball for St. Gregory’s, and they won the state championship in 1955 and played here,” said ADSL Coach and neighbor Ann Walsh.
“Our girls stand on their shoulders, those girls who stood up and said they wanted to play sports before Title IX…I can’t wait to see one of the girls whack a home run over the fence and be able to run around the bases after a real home run.”
The new softball field and walking paths as seen from the Clancy Road entrance. Seth Daniel photo
ADSL Girls Softball president Kevin George said the new field is a group effort of strong parent and coaching voices over many years – most prominent being Noreen and Matt Kelley, Ann Walsh, Dan Clark, and Kevin and Elaine Monahan.
“The opening of Walsh Field is an awesome development for girls softball in Dorchester,” George said. “A long time ago, Kevin and Elaine put the bug in our ears that girls softball needed their own state-of-the-art field. We all listened and got on board and started attending community meetings and pressing the issue. After a few close misses we finally got the softball playing girls of Dorchester their own top-notch softball field.”
Delving back into the past – and the namesake of the park, Gunnery Sgt. William G. Walsh – the mayor gave testimony about Walsh’s heroism in World War II, where he won the Medal of Honor after sacrificing his life.
She noted that he and 11 of his friends had met playing baseball in the neighborhood, and all of them signed up for the war as a team.
“He threw himself on a grenade and sacrificed his life for his teammates and fellow soldiers,” she said. “He received the Medal of Honor. Not everyone can be as heroic or win the Medal of Honor, but every child and person here will know what it is to show up for each other and have each other’s backs.”
Scottie Skelly took a ride down the new slide at Walsh Park.
Joe DeLuca and Jim McCarrick took in the new Walsh Park on Friday.
Mattie Stripling with Kenya Thompson, who works for the Parks Department and lives in Dorchester near Walsh Park.
Keisha and Antwon Ward with their dog, Gordon Harrington Ward, who loves taking walks in Walsh Park.
