Less than a year after Red Sox President Larry Lucchino unveiled considerable renovations at Fenway Park — including wider sidewalks and new staircases — the Boston Landmark Commission discussed yesterday further restorations and maintenance to the park, as well as to the Paramount Theater, another Boston symbol.
Janet Marie Smith, the senior vice president of planning and development for the Red Sox, presented with renovation suggestions to the commission.
“We want to take down the wall behind left field and make a bigger area at the Grand Concourse,” Smith said.
“With a bigger space a lot of things can be added that we are missing,” she added. “Currently, at the Grand Concourse there is very little handicapped accessibility to the seats — freeing up space by getting rid of the wall will allow people with limited mobility greater access to the stadium. Since the beginning of the stadium, there has only been one large women’s room. We will use the concourse as the space to place another one.”
Smith also proposed a new restaurant underneath the bleacher seats on Lansdowne Street, where she said a large open space could house a restaurant with a view of the field.
“We want to take that space underneath the bleacher seats and create a small restaurant,” she said. “We see the neighborhood that Fenway is starting to become and we want to contribute to its development. Having the restaurant year-round would be a way for the Red Sox to give back to the community. It would also allow tourists to be able to get a glimpse of the stadium without having to pay for a $12-tour.”
Commission members also spoke about renovations on the Paramount Theater on Washington Street as well as the adjacent Arcade building, which is slated to be partially used for Emerson College dormitories.
Emerson spokeswoman Peggy Ames said the school entered into the project with the Millennium Partners firm to revive the theater and change the façade of both the Paramount and the Arcade buildings.
“We want to restore the pedestrian entry zone in front, and give the theater the feeling of accessibility and warmth that it once had,” Ames said.
Emerson has allocated $70 million for the restoration project.
The Landmark Committee also suggested replacing some of the buildings’ infrastructure because of the plaster that holds the walls of the theater is slowly deteriorating.
“I wonder if it is possible that people coming to the theater will be able to understand what is the new and what is left of this historic monument,” Commission Chair Susan Pranger said.