Special to the Record
The City of Chelsea has completed phase 4 of its renovation project aimed at preserving and modernizing the community’s Garden Cemetery and is pleased to announce it’s once again open to the public as of January 2026. The City has also returned Shawmut Street back into its two-way traffic pattern from Central Avenue to Chester Avenue, though parking continues to be prohibited from the even-side of the street.
The next round of renovations, focused mainly on beautifying the cemetery and increasing accessibility, will begin in Spring 2026.
In 2017, the City embarked on the Garden Cemetery renovation project to renovate the historic 3.5 acre cemetery located in the Shurtleff/Bellingham neighborhood.
“The cemetery was built 1841, is an important facet of the City’s rich heritage, and is a cultural resource for the City,” said Karl Allen, Senior Urban Planner for the City of Chelsea. “Restoration has been historically deferred due to complexity and lack of resources, but the cemetery’s 2018 master plan identified that a major rehabilitation project was necessary to prevent the collapse of multiple retaining walls and burial crypts, repair the memorial to Civil War soldiers, plant the next generation’s tree canopy, and ensure future public use and enjoyment.”
As of January, 2026, the City completed the project’s Phase 4. So far, the City has restored hundreds of monuments and the major walking paths; refurbished the cemetery’s Shawmut Street gates and archway; improved the perimeter walls; rehabilitated crypts in the central area; replaced the historic staircase; and restored Shawmut’s sidewalks.
Phase 5 will begin in spring 2026 and focus on three key improvements: completing a perimeter path that is two-thirds accessible to people with disabilities, repairing and cleaning additional monuments, and enhancing the landscape with new flowering trees. Finally, the City will install regimental flagpoles and rehabilitate Civil War cannons for historical preservation purposes.
“We are proud to transform this historic property, including a memorial to Chelsea residents who fought in the Civil War, into an accessible, open space that is an oasis of calm in a dense urban neighborhood.” added Allen.
The project is being completed by the Housing & Community Development Department and Department of Public Works and is funded through the City’s Capital Improvement Plan and grants from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and Community Preservation Fund.