Walkway to the Sea History

Envisioned by renowned Architect Ben Thompson, the Walkway to the Sea was first rendered in 1962. Thompson, who received the Gold medal of the American Institute of Architects, the industry’s highest honor, was the first to recognize the significance of linking downtown Hyannis to its historic waterfront.

With a long history as the region’s center for commerce, Thompson and many before him recognized Hyannis as the capital of the Cape. 
Frequently revived over the years by community members, businessmen and town leaders, the Walkway to the Sea began its latest incarnation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Private and public dollars, countless public hearings, and multitudes of consortia worked together to identify dollars to purchase blighted properties on the corner of South and Ocean Streets, to design and construct what is now known as Aselton Park, the historic Town Green and the long-awaited Walkway to the Sea. State funds were identified and then nearly lost to assist in the effort.

John Klimm, currently our Town Manager but the then State Representative, fought to restore state funds necessary to enhance and preserve the Cape’s natural beauty and in 1994 Cape Cod Bank and Trust Company pledged some $30,000 to partner with the Town of Barnstable to raze blighted buildings in what is now a beautiful park overlooking Hyannis Harbor.

In the late 1990s state funds through the Executive Office of Housing and Urban Development were identified as the final pieces of the puzzle in the development of the Walkway to the Sea Project.

Countless groups, individuals and organizations participated in the development of this project over the many years following Ben Thompson’s original vision and include (but is not limited to): the Hyannis Chamber of Commerce, the Hyannis BID, the Hyannis Civic Association, the HADEDC Board, the Hyannis Vision Group, the Hyannis Main Street Waterfront Historic Commission, Barnstable Town Council, and individuals Dexter Leen and Shirlee Shaughnessy.