Fodor's Expert Review City Hall Plaza

Over the years, various plans—involving gardens, restaurants, music, and hotels—have been floated to make this a more people-friendly site. Possibly the only thing that would ameliorate Bostonians' collective distaste for the chilly Government Center is tearing it down. Locals are getting their wish, as the entire City Hall Plaza area (one of the largest civil spaces in Boston) is now in the middle of a several-stage, multiyear makeover. City Hall itself is an upside-down ziggurat design on a brutalist redbrick plaza that is being torn up and revamped to create a more aesthetically pleasing array of tree canopies, terraces, and improved public spaces. Once this is complete, the plaza will return as the site of many of the city's famed festivals, rallies, and outdoor concerts.