This was a nice place, once.

Here's a good example of a successful public space. It's a view of Lincoln Park, as it was sometime near the beginning of the 20th century, from the Library of Congress archives (hat tip to Corey on the ArchBoston forum):



I suspect that this photo is looking east from a vantage point near the corner of Congress and Pearl Streets. But it's hard to tell, since every single one of the stately, mansard-roofed houses in this picture has been demolished, and a third of the park was bulldozed to give Franklin Street arterial a wide, empty median that's of no use to anybody.