I suppose there should be a dog in this picture, but there were only a few running around the Bell Street Dog Park the other day and they wanted nothing to do with me. This place is huge and the dogs had no trouble keeping their distance. As to this old fireplace (?) it would appear to be the remnants of a once grand estate belonging to the Eddy family.
Angela DiVeglia writes at Rhode Tour:
This parcel of land was once the opulent home of James Eddy, an engraver who built his fortune as an art dealer, and his wife Eliza Jackson Eddy. Their estate included multiple outbuildings, a large brick chapel for public worship, sprawling grounds, and curving walkways, all perched on a steep hill at the western edge of fashionable Broadway. Terraces cut into the hill and dramatic stairs descended to neighborhoods below. The house itself was palatial, with more than 20 rooms, numerous fireplaces, ornate woodwork in mahogany and walnut, and oak floors. A grand hall on the ground floor stretched the length of the house and opened up onto a round back veranda.
(Go look at the old photograph of the estate!) Following Eddy’s death, the property was sold to the Catholic Diocese, hence the name. I suppose the nuns might have built the fireplace — feel free to comment.
There is a gate into the park at the end of Bell Street, but the official double-gated dog entrance is over on Ridge Street. The views of Olneyville and parts west from this property are phenomenal.
5am to 9pm, Bell Street dog park, (directions)
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Looks like people enjoy watching the sun set over the 6/10 connector construction project. You can just see the Atlantic Mills tower in the distance.
