Cristoforo Colombo Park, also known as East Park, is an important neighborhood and city-wide park located within the busy and vibrant Shrewsbury Street commercial district. East Park is easily recognizable because of the two stone griffins (lions with wings) flanking the park entrance.

The park contains lighted fields for football, as well as a tennis court and two basketball courts. The park also includes a splash pad in the warm weather months, a state-of-the-art children's playground, amphitheater and many acres of undeveloped hillsides with trail connections to Bell Pond Park and Green Hill Park leading all the way to Lake Quinsigamond.

East Side Trail Map

Splash

Cool off on a hot summer day at the Cristoforo Colombo Spray Park! Bring your kids down to splash around and get sprayed by spouts of water! It'll be a blast!

Learn More

Let's Play!

Cristoforo Colombo Park not only has a state-of-the-art children's playground, but it also has a smaller play structure in the park, basketball courts and a baseball diamond where you can catch an exciting ball game or snag some fly balls of your own.

Events in the Park

The amphitheater in the middle of the park is a unique structure that is host to many events throughout the warmer months. Most notably, during the City's annual Independence Day Celebration, the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra wows a large crowd before the fireworks light up the sky.

Griffins

In 1916, an ornamental gateway was installed making use of the two stone griffins (lions with wings) that formerly supported the arch of the train shed of the old Union Railroad Station. Next time you're at the park, look at the griffins and you will see that they are not a matching pair. One griffin's tail is facing Shrewsbury St and the other griffin's tail is unseen facing the park. It is believed that the griffins were transported by horse and sled.