How Martin’s Park in Boston is Enhancing Visitor Experience

Just off the bustling streets of the Fort Point neighborhood in Boston’s Seaport District, you can find the playful and inviting atmosphere of Martin’s Park. Martin’s Park opened in 2019 and honors the welcoming spirit of Dorchester native Martin Richard. The park has custom built gardens, inclusive playground structures, and climate friendly aspects for all families and children to enjoy. 

In 2021, Martin’s Park installed their Soofa Sign as a way to better connect with visitors, provide a wayfinding solution, and promote local events. We spoke to the management team at Martin’s Park, Sierra Rothberg, and Jennifer Coyne from Lusterity Design + Events to learn more about how they use their Soofa Sign and the positive impact it’s making on the park. 

Filling Communication Gaps

The Lusterity team was tasked in 2021 by the Friends of Martin’s Park to create and handle all the park’s needs including social media, website, physical signage, programming, events, partnerships, improvement projects, and more. However, when considering traditional options for visitor communication, they realized something was missing. 

“We were trying to figure out other ways to communicate with people passing by other than posters and paper signage on a bulletin board,” Rothberg said. She noted that they wanted an easy solution for sharing messages and events, while also considering spacing and placement of a physical sign. “The topography of the park is really important, so we wanted the sign design and placement to all blend together.”

They decided to install one Soofa Sign near the park’s entrance, which they’ve been using regularly ever since. “The Soofa Sign being solar-powered as well as having a wayfinding map decal was a huge bonus for us because there was no physical map of the park before,” Rothberg said. 

Their sign features posts from their Facebook and X accounts, local events, updates, and more. “We like having a calendar feed of events because we can talk about things going on in the neighborhood that are pertinent to being at a public park. For example, environmental holidays, fun graphics, or Children’s Museum information,” Coyne said.

Martin’s Park is not officially associated with the Boston Children’s Museum, but Coyne said, “50 percent of people who pass through the park are either coming to or from the museum with little ones.”

Coyne and Rothberg especially love their wayfinding map because “many people don't understand that the park shape is an enclosed figure eight foot path since it’s hard to tell from the entrance,” Coyne said. 

“When you're at the Soofa Sign at ground level, you can't see across the park because the topography changes quite drastically all over,” Rothberg added. 

A Low Maintenance Solution

Since its installation, the Martin’s Park Soofa Sign has been seen by thousands of commuters, families, children, and others passing by. Rothberg and Coyne mentioned that people frequently scan the QR code on the sign to leave specific feedback about the park. Rothberg said, “It's been beneficial because someone from the park is not always there to hear from people directly. So it's the main way for people to connect with us and give us feedback.” 

“It's essentially our conduit of communication to the general public when we don't have the opportunity. There are static and changing parts of the sign that offer different things to different people walking by, so it's a great way to have a passive communication vehicle that we can be partly in control of. It’s the least intrusive solution that also has tech and environmental aspects behind it,” Coyne said. 

Overall, the Martin’s Park Soofa Sign seamlessly blends into its environment while providing essential communication to its visitors and people passing by. With little to no maintenance required, the team at Martin’s Park knows their Soofa Sign messages are being seen, leaving them more time to plan events and making the park experience even better.

Bring Soofa Signs anywhere! To learn more about what Soofa can do for your community, fill out our landowner interest form or email hi@soofadigital.com