Boston takes step toward revitalizing old bear dens

BOSTON – Decades ago, part of Franklin Park in Boston housed black bears, grizzlies, and polar bears. This week, the city took a key step toward giving new life to the old bear dens have gone unused since the 1970s.
The Boston Parks Commission voted unanimously Monday to transfer management of the bear dens from Zoo New England to the Parks Department. Mayor Michelle Wu said the move “is an opportunity to invest in a corner of the park with great potential.”
The historic dens are located just north of White Stadium and were part of the old Franklin Park Zoo before it moved to its current location. Visitors to the area can still see remnants of the old cages and stone enclosures that remain “a unique architectural feature in the park,” the city said.
Community leaders say the city’s action this week means much-needed improvements to the space can now begin.
“The Franklin Park Coalition is excited to see the long-neglected Bear Dens transferred to the city,” Rickie Thompson, the Franklin Park Coalition board president, said in a statement. “The site has the potential to be a beautiful landscape feature honoring an important part of the park’s history, dating to 1912 – as identified in the bas relief of two bears encircling the city seal.”
Wu said the city will look to carry out the Franklin Park Action Plan’s vision for the bear dens, referring to a 2022 document that called for community-driven improvements to the 527-acre park. 
The plan notes that “the Bear Dens served as the anchoring attractions” in the old zoo, but the dens “were left to deteriorate in the woods.”
There’s no intention to bring actual bears back to the dens. Instead, the plan says restoring the dens could create a space for programming like yoga classes. It also says the city could add much-needed splash pads in the dens, inspired by the “historic bear pools” that bears once swam in. 
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department will make “immediate safety and structural” fixes to the dens and then talk to the community about future programming ideas and more improvements, the city said.