While a cold, rainy day generally is not considered ideal for a park dedication, it was fitting for the reopening of the renovated Childe Hassam Park, named after the late South End artist whose most famous work is an 1885 painting of rain on Columbus Avenue. The weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of approximately 200 attendees, including residents, organizers and government officials who worked to transform the formerly neglected park into a lush garden and art space. Mayor Martin J. Walsh offered brief remarks and participated in a ribbon-cutting along with City Council President Bill Linehan, State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, interim Parks and Recreation commissioner Christopher Cook, and president Tom Boyden and vice president Alexander Roche of the Friends of Childe Hassam Park. A quartet from the Community Music Center of Boston played jazz accompanied by a pair of dancers, and a tent adjacent to the park sheltered several local artists showing their works. The park's namesake, a noted American impressionist, was represented by reproductions of two of his works, "Rainy Day" and "Boston Common at Twilight".

The diminutive green space joins the South End's other "pocket parks" such as Dartmouth Green, which like Childe Hassam, was renovated and reopened last year after years of neglect. In keeping with its rebirth as an art venue as well as a green space, the new park's entrance is graced with a bronze relief and biographical description of its namesake by sculptor Reno "Ray" Pisano, a faculty member at the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, while "Ad Astra", a lyrical bronze sculpture of two boys releasing a dove by the late, South End sculptor Kahlil Gibran (cousin of the renowned poet of the same name), stands at the other end of the park. Artist Pisano and Gibran's widow, Jean English Gibran attended and were recognized at the ceremony.

Speakers included Mayor Walsh, who remarked that since his campaign last year, he has "put a lot of emphasis on our park system. At an event, I said that we want Boston to have the number one park system in America, and someone said, 'We're number four.' I thought to myself, we need to do better, and the way we do better is to have Friends groups like the one we have here today. The Friends groups drive the city as well as working with the community to do something special like this." Walsh thanked the Friends of Childe Hassam Park for their effort and for being persistent with the city government to bring the park makeover to fruition. In his own address, Boyden recalled Mark Goldweitz, who initially converted the site from a gas station to a park and donated it to the neighborhood almost 40 years ago. Boyden thanked former Mayor Menino, former Parks and Recreation commissioner Antonia Pollak, Linehan and many others, including city officials, artisans and volunteers for their efforts in creating the new park. The humble Boyden recently received the Ellis Neighborhood Association's Arthur Howe Award for his work on Childe Hassam Park. Roche singled out artist Pisano, calling him "an inspiration and a joy to work with." After the ceremony, Michlewitz reflected on the campaign to create Childe Hassam Park. He said, "It's a great example of government working from the ground up, with people getting involved and advocating with their government and elected officials. It took a long time, and I think that is a tribute to the persistence of Tom and others who really made this happen." He continued, "I think they did a wonderful job, and I am excited about the aesthetic look that I am going to see when I walk down Chandler and Columbus. I give the city a lot of credit for moving forward on it." Michlewitz said that although he did speak with the Friends group a number of times and had his staff attend some of their meetings, it was Boyden and his team who really got the job done.

The reopening culminated 12 years of effort by the Friends of Childe Hassam Park, who formed in the 1990s to revive the neglected open space. In the 1990s, a group of neighbors began discussing the prospect of renovating and reopening the park. The Friends of Childe Hassam Park incorporated in 2000, the same year that Boyden moved to the South End after many years living in Watertown. Looking out the window of his Columbus Avenue condo, Boyden saw the little park in disrepair and under constant lock and key and wondered why. He joined the Friends group and before long became its leader, contacting city officials almost daily to keep the fire burning on the Friends group's request for assistance in renovating the green space. "I am very pleased that the park is finished and it looks as great as it does. It is going to be such a great place for neighbors to hang out on nice days. I am very pleased with ceremony, but I'm disappointed with the weather. Many people who were invited didn't come because of it." Looking ahead, Boyden said, "We are planning to have some arts events in the park over the summer for the neighborhood." Contemplating the fruit of his toils from his front window, Boyden said, "Being on the third floor and being able to look at it is just awesome."