The joy of exploring is in the discovery. Whether you’re a visitor to Boston, a resident, or a commuter, it’s always exciting to stumble upon a corner of the city filled with delights that you may not have known existed.

And that’s exactly what you’ll find at Harbor Way in the Seaport. 

Harbor Way is a ribbon of a park that has been unfurling through the center of the Seaport. An unexpected oasis of greenery against the Seaport’s sky-high buildings, the vertical park invites the community to slow down and savor its natural beauty. 

In the coming years, Harbor Way’s pedestrian promenade will extend even further than it does today, taking people from the upper heights of Summer Street down through the heart of the Seaport all the way past Seaport Common, to Northern Avenue. 

Its first phase, The Rocks at Harbor Way, debuted in the autumn of 2021. It provided a completely different take on the traditional broad streets and big-building feel of the Seaport. The design started with a wide-open green lawn and sizable rocks. 

“The rocks themselves are a series of large boulders that evoke a sense of the glacial erratics deposited throughout New England,” says Lisa Tziona Switkin, senior principal at James Corner Field Operations in New York City, an international landscape architecture design firm that focuses on the intersection of nature and cities. “Harbor Way was inspired by New England’s coastal geology, as well as its pebble beaches and wooden boardwalks. Its design and materiality is an intentional way to connect people with the waterfront, and to create more intimacy and sense of place.”

In fact, visiting The Rocks at Harbor Way is a great way to take a break. The central green lawn and nearby boardwalk are surrounded by native coniferous and deciduous trees, coastal grasses, and, of course, the huge rocks — which are great for both sitting on and, if you’re up for the challenge, climbing over. All of these features and spaces are designed to connect people and nature. A collection of evergreen lawn games and a dog run allow for convivial activity while nearby retailers provide an opportunity to treat oneself while catching up with neighbors and co-workers.

In addition to spaces for year-round events, The Rocks at Harbor Way currently includes a 22-foot-long concrete community table for informal gatherings, picnics, and taking in the surrounding singing trees. Yes, Harbor Way has a canopy of musical trees. 

“Using PlantWave technology we translate plant biorhythms into music,” says Joe Patitucci, CEO of Data Garden, makers of PlantWave. “When people visit The Rocks at Harbor Way they’re going to experience Singing Trees. There are four different trees, three sassafras and one maple, that are playing flutes, bells, chimes, and even controlling vocal samples. It’s a wonderful ambient orchestra that’s all played by trees.”

The unusual music is achieved via specialized electrodes that measure micro-fluctuations in the amount of water between two points in the tree as it’s photosynthesizing. The resulting graph of those measurements is translated into pitch messages which are then routed to digital instruments that have been specially designed for the plants to play. 

Harbor Way visitors can hear music played by the individual trees at four kiosks around the park. In addition, there are weekly performances when all the trees sing in harmony on Sundays from 12:00pm-2:00pm. 

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“It’s an experience that can take a person out of the busyness of their day and connect them more deeply to nature,” Patitucci says. “And it’s really unique because it’s the only installation of its kind open to the public in the entire world.”

In addition to music, visitors can take in an array of public art including a headhouse turned into a graphic installation, entitled “Blur Box”, by Sean Canty, an artist and professor at the Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Dip into 111 Harbor Way, the building alongside The Rocks to view “Parade” by Tamislov Topic and the pair of “Passage” paintings by artist 1010.

“This is a very public spirited project in a way that typical real estate development is not,” says Paula Scher, partner at Pentagram, the international design consultancy which was brought in by WS Development to create navigational signage for the park. This same consultancy was given the great honor of managing the High Line’s identity and branding after it was built in New York. 

A deliberate aspect of the design approach for Harbor Way’s identity and signage was to focus on ways to open the park to everyone. From tall metal signs that are essentially arrows guiding visitors on their way to angled stainless steel and bamboo indicators inlaid into the boardwalk, visitors are met with open arms, invited to connect with Harbor Way and its surroundings.

“Harbor Way isn’t meant to be exclusive,” Scher says. “[It’s a place where] people are happy to walk and discover things or just hang out in the neighborhood.”