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{{Short description|Botanical garden in Boston, MA}}
{{Infobox NRHP | name =Boston Public Garden
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
| nrhp_type = nhld | nocat = yes
{{Infobox park
| image = Public Garden, Boston.jpg
| image = Boston Public Garden May 2018 006.jpg
| caption = The Public Garden looking east from the Arlington Street entrance, with the skyline of Boston's financial district, 2007
| image_size = 250
| location= [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]]
| image_caption = Boston Public Garden pond in 2018
| locmapin = Boston#Massachusetts#USA
| location = [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]]
| area ={{convert|24|acre|m2}}<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>
| area = {{convert|24|acre|m2}}<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>
| built =1837
| opened = 1837
| architect=
| designer =
| architecture=
| architecture =
| designated_nrhp_type= February 27, 1987<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1977&ResourceType=District
| mapframe-area_km2 = 1
|title=Boston Public Gardens |accessdate=2008-04-16|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
|embedded =
| added = July 12, 1972 (original, in NRHP also including Boston Common)<br/>
{{Infobox NRHP
|embed = yes
| name = Boston Public Garden
| nrhp_type = nhld
| nocat = yes
| designated_nrhp_type = February 27, 1987<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1977&ResourceType=District|title=Boston Public Gardens|access-date=2008-04-16|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|archive-date=September 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929193631/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1977&ResourceType=District|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| added = July 12, 1972 (original, in NRHP also including Boston Common)<br />
February 27, 1987 (new, as NHL of Boston Public Garden alone)<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
February 27, 1987 (new, as NHL of Boston Public Garden alone)<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| refnum = 72000144 (original)<br />87000761 (new)
| governing_body = Local
}}}}
| refnum=72000144 (original)<br/>87000761 (new)
[[File:Beautiful boston public garden.pdf|thumb|Boston Public Garden pond in May]]
}}
The '''Public Garden''', also known as '''Boston Public Garden''', is a large park in the [[Downtown Boston|heart]] of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], adjacent to [[Boston Common]]. It is a part of the [[Emerald Necklace]] system of parks, and is bounded by [[Charles Street (Boston)|Charles Street]] and Boston Common to the east, [[Beacon Street]] to the north, Arlington Street and [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]] to the west, and [[Boylston Street]] to the south.
The '''Public Garden''', also known as '''Boston Public Garden''', is a large park in the [[Downtown Boston|heart]] of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], adjacent to [[Boston Common]]. It is a part of the [[Emerald Necklace]] system of parks and is bounded by [[Charles Street (Boston)|Charles Street]] and Boston Common to the east, [[Beacon Street]] and [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] to the north, Arlington Street and [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]] to the west, and [[Boylston Street]] to the south. The Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in America.


==History==
==History==
Boston's [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]], including the land the garden sits on, was [[mudflat]]s until filling began in the early 1800s. The land of the Public Garden was the earliest filled, as the area that is now Charles Street had been used as a [[ropewalk]] since 1796.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-Century Landfill Project|last=Newman|first=William A.|publisher=Northeastern University Press|year=2006|isbn=1555536808|location=Boston|pages=20}}</ref> As part of the conditions of its use, the ropewalk's proprietors were required to build a seawall and fill in the land which is now Charles Street and the land immediately bordering it (now a part of the Public Garden).
Boston's [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]], including the land the garden sits on, was [[mudflat]]s until filling began in the early 1800s. The land of the Public Garden was the earliest filled, as the area that is now Charles Street had been used as a [[ropewalk]] since 1796.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-Century Landfill Project|last=Newman|first=William A.|publisher=Northeastern University Press|year=2006|isbn=1555536808|location=Boston|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bostonsbackbayst00newm_0/page/20 20]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bostonsbackbayst00newm_0}}</ref> The town of Boston granted ropemakers use of the land on July 30, 1794,<ref>Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1875</ref> after a fire had destroyed the ropewalks in a more populated area of the city. As a condition of its use, the ropewalk's proprietors were required to build a seawall and fill in the land which is now Charles Street and the land immediately bordering it (now a part of the Public Garden).


Much of the landfill material came from Mount Vernon, formerly a hill in the [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] area of Boston. Initially, gravel and dirt were brought from the hill to the landfill area by handcart. By 1804, a [[gravity railroad]] had been constructed to rapidly bring material from the top of the hill to the marsh; and today, Mount Vernon no longer exists, having been completely removed to be used as landfill for the Back Bay.
Much of the landfill material came from Mount Vernon, formerly a hill in the [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] area of Boston. Initially, gravel and soil were brought from the hill to the landfill area by handcart. By 1804, a [[gravity railroad]] had been constructed to rapidly bring material from the top of the hill to the marsh; today, Mount Vernon no longer exists, having been completely removed to be used as landfill for the Back Bay.


The Public Garden was established in 1837, when philanthropist Horace Gray<ref>[http://www.bahistory.org/HoraceGray.html Horace Gray: Father of the Boston Public Garden<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> petitioned for the use of land as the first public [[botanical garden]] in the [[United States]]. By 1839, a corporation was formed called Horace Gray and Associates, and made the "Proprietors of the Botanic Garden in Boston."<ref>Newman p 23</ref> The corporation was chartered with creating what is now the Boston Public Garden. Nonetheless, there was constant pressure for the land to be sold to private interests for the construction of new housing.
In February 1824, the city of Boston purchased back the land granted to the ropemakers, for a cost of $50,000.<ref>Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1875.</ref> The next year, a proposal to turn the land into a graveyard was defeated by a vote of 1632 to 176. The Public Garden was established in 1837, when philanthropist Horace Gray<ref>[http://www.bahistory.org/HoraceGray.html Horace Gray: Father of the Boston Public Garden<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> petitioned for the use of land as the first public [[botanical garden]] in the [[United States]]. By 1839, a corporation was formed, called Horace Gray and Associates, and made the "Proprietors of the Botanic Garden in Boston."<ref>Newman p 23</ref> The corporation was chartered with creating what is now the Boston Public Garden. Nonetheless, there was constant pressure for the land to be sold to private interests for the construction of new housing. The year that Boston's Public Garden opened, Mr. John Fottler Sr., dubbed "the Father of Our Parks", delivered the first load of plants ever set at the gardens, from the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder of Dorchester.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=405 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050226203930/http://dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=405 |archive-date=2005-02-26 |title=Dorchester Atheneum: John Fottler}}</ref>


While most of the land of the present-day garden had been filled in by the mid-1800s, the area of the Back Bay remained an undeveloped tidal basin. In 1842, the state legislature created The Commissioners on Boston Harbor and the Back Bay, in order to determine how to best develop the land; the state wanted to control the lands and to build an upper class neighborhood in the area beyond the Public Garden. The City of Boston petitioned the state to grant control over the basin (which was controlled by the then-independent city of [[Roxbury, Boston|Roxbury]]), in hopes of generating significant revenue from any developments that would be built after filling it in. When the state commission rejected Boston's petition, the Boston City Council threatened to sell the garden to housing developers, which would have significantly reduced the desirability of the area for the upper class elite that the state was hoping to attract.
While most of the land of the present-day garden had been filled in by the mid-1800s, the area of the Back Bay remained an undeveloped tidal basin. In 1842, the state legislature created The Commissioners on Boston Harbor and the Back Bay, in order to determine how to best develop the land; the state wanted to control the lands and to build an upper-class neighborhood in the area beyond the Public Garden. The City of Boston petitioned the state to grant control over the basin (which was controlled by the then-independent city of [[Roxbury, Boston|Roxbury]]), in hopes of generating significant revenue from any developments that would be built after filling it in. When the state commission rejected Boston's petition, the Boston City Council threatened to sell the garden to housing developers, which would have significantly reduced the desirability of the area for the upper-class elite that the state was hoping to attract.


The conflict between the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was finally resolved when the [[Tripartite Indenture of 1856]] was agreed to by both parties and passed a general vote of citizens 6,287 to 99.<ref>Stevens p 345</ref> In the agreement, Boston gave up its rights to build upon the Public Garden; in return, it received a strip of land which is now a part of the garden, abutting Arlington Street.<ref>Newman, p.64-65</ref>
The conflict between the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was finally resolved when the [[Tripartite Indenture of 1856]] was agreed to by both parties and passed a general vote of citizens 6,287 to 99.<ref>Stevens p 345</ref> In the agreement, Boston gave up its rights to build upon the Public Garden; in return, it received a strip of land which is now a part of the garden, abutting Arlington Street.<ref>Newman, p.64-65</ref>
[[File:1850 PublicGarden BirdsEyeView Boston byJohnBachmann.png|left|thumb|Drawing of the Public Garden in 1850, facing east. Note the empty foreground: where the [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]] is today, are flats in this drawing.]]
In October 1859, Alderman Crane submitted the detailed plan for the Garden to the Committee on the Common and Public Squares and received approval.<ref>The New England magazine, Volume 24. p.346. New England Magazine Co., 1901</ref> Construction began quickly on the property, with the pond being finished that year and the [[wrought iron]] fence surrounding the perimeter erected in 1862. Today the north side of the pond has a small island, but it originally was a peninsula, connected to the land. The site became so popular with lovers that John Galvin, the city forester, decided to sever the connection with the land.<ref>Stevens p 347</ref>


[[File:1850 Plan of Public Garden, showing proposed arrangement of lots thereon, by Ezra Lincoln, from the Digital Commonwealth - commonwealth 9s161j39hjpg.jpg|left|thumb|1850 plan for the Public Garden (not adopted)]]
The {{convert|24|acre|m2}} landscape was designed by [[George Meacham|George F. Meacham]]. The paths and flower beds were laid out by the city engineer, James Slade, and the forester, John Galvin. The plan for the garden included a number of fountains and statues, and many of them were erected in the late 1860s. The most notable statue is perhaps of [[George Washington]], done in 1869 by [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]], which dominates the western entrance to the park facing [[Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)|Commonwealth Avenue]]. The signature suspension bridge over the middle of the pond was erected in 1869.
[[File:1899 BostonCommon map byAEDowns BPL.png|left|thumb|An 1899 drawing of the [[Boston Common|Common]] and garden. Compared to 49 years earlier, the [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]] is now completely filled in, and the garden much more closely resembles that of today.]]
[[File:1850 PublicGarden BirdsEyeView Boston byJohnBachmann.png|left|thumb|275px|Drawing of the Public Garden in 1850, facing east. Note the empty foreground: where the [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]] neighborhood is today, mudflats are seen in this drawing.]]
Originally, the Charles Street side of the Public Garden (along with the adjacent portions of Boston Common) was used as an unofficial dumping ground, due to being the lowest-lying portion of the Garden; this, along with the Garden's originally being a salt marsh, resulted in this edge of the Public Garden being "a moist stew that reeked and that was a mess to walk over, steering people to other parts of the park". Although plans had long been in place to regrade this portion of the Garden, the cost of moving the amount of soil necessary (approximately {{cvt|9000|cuyd|m3}}, weighing {{cvt|14,000|ST|kg}}) prevented the work from being undertaken. This finally changed in the summer of 1895, when the required quantity of soil was made available as a result of the excavation of the [[Tremont Street Subway]], and was used to regrade the Charles Street sides of both the Garden and the Common.<ref>{{cite book|last=Most|first=Doug|date=2014|title=The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America's First Subway|publisher=St. Martin's Press|pages=233–234|isbn=978-1-250-06135-5}}</ref>


In October 1859, Alderman Crane submitted the detailed plan for the Garden to the Committee on the Common and Public Squares and received approval.<ref>The New England magazine, Volume 24. p.346. New England Magazine Co., 1901 |url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101064988155</ref> Construction began quickly on the property, with the pond being finished that year and the [[wrought iron]] fence surrounding the perimeter erected in 1862. Today the north side of the pond has a small island, but it originally was a peninsula, connected to the land. The site became so popular with lovers that John Galvin, the city forester, decided to sever the connection with the land.<ref>Stevens p 347</ref>
The Public Garden is managed jointly between the Mayor's Office, The Parks Department of the City of Boston, and the non-profit [[Friends of the Public Garden]]. It was designated a [[Boston Landmark]] by the [[Boston Landmarks Commission]] in 1977 and declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1987.<ref name="nrhpinv2">{{citation|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Boston Public Garden|url={{NHLS url|id=87000761}} |format=pdf|date=November 1985 |author=James H. Charleton |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=87000761|title=''Accompanying five photos, from 1985 and undated''|photos=y}}&nbsp;{{small|(32&nbsp;KB)}}</ref><ref name="nhlsum"/>

The {{convert|24|acre|m2}} landscape was designed by [[George F. Meacham]]. The paths and flower beds were laid out by the city engineer, James Slade, and the forester, John Galvin. The plan for the garden included a number of fountains and statues, many of which were erected in the late 1860s. The most notable statue is perhaps that of [[George Washington]], done in 1869 by [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]], which dominates the western entrance to the park facing [[Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)|Commonwealth Avenue]]. The [[Boston Public Garden Foot Bridge|signature suspension bridge]] over the middle of the pond was erected in 1867.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Boston Garden Foot Bridge - 1867 - Boston, MA - Bridge Date Stones and Plaques on Waymarking.com|url=https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMP3MF_Boston_Garden_Foot_Bridge_1867_Boston_MA|access-date=2021-12-20|website=www.waymarking.com}}</ref>

[[File:1899 BostonCommon map byAEDowns BPL.png|left|thumb|275px|An 1899 drawing of the [[Boston Common|Common]] and garden. Compared to 49 years earlier, the [[Back Bay, Boston|Back Bay]] is now completely filled in, and the garden much more closely resembles that of today.]]
[[File:Boston Common and Public Garden SkySat SSC3 20170730.png|left|thumb|275px|A 2017 satellite image of the [[Boston Common|Common]] and garden.]]

Gas lamps were originally used to light the garden at night, but in 1883, construction of electric lamps was begun. There was initially concern over the use of electric lamps, as it would require wires to be run through the garden, and some members of government feared that it would harm the aesthetics of the place.<ref>Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1883.</ref> But as electric lighting replaced gas lighting, and vandalism of the garden – such as the theft and destruction of its flowers – was a growing concern, electric lighting was eventually installed throughout.

In the early 20th century, baby [[American alligator|alligators]] were kept in a basin near the Commonwealth Avenue entrance; they were fed live rats and mice by local residents.<ref>{{cite news |last=Annear |first=Steve |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/09/metro/boston-public-garden-used-have-baby-alligators-yes-alligators-people-fed-them-rodents/ |title=Boston Public Garden used to have baby alligators — yes, alligators — and people fed them rodents |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=2021-04-09 |access-date=2021-04-09 }}</ref>

A flagpole stands today on the eastern side of the garden, close to Charles Street and just south of the main entrance there. The original flagpole was struck by lightning and destroyed in 1918, and in 1920 the city appropriated $2,500 for construction of a new one.<ref>Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1920.</ref> In 1982, the city granted an additional $25,000 for improvements to the flagpole. A circular granite bench was installed around the pole, with the work being done by the [[Friends of the Public Garden]].<ref>Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1982.</ref>

On January 6, 1913, the [[Boston City Council|City Council]] placed the garden, along with the [[Boston Common]], under the direct management of the Public Grounds Department of the city. That department declared walking upon the grass of the Common or garden to be illegal, and arrests were made for that offense until at least the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news|title=ARREST 14 ON PUBLIC GARDEN: Men Charged With Lying or Walking on Grass|date=July 14, 1924|work=The Boston Daily Globe|id = {{ProQuest|497825402}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Gardens No-Sitting Grass|last=Sterritt|first=Francis|date=June 19, 1966|work=The Boston Globe|id = {{ProQuest|365964197}}}}</ref> Today, sitting on the grass is permitted except for specific sections of the lawn where a posted sign forbids access.<ref>Posted Rules of the Public Garden. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindsayhancock/6936393544 Accessed March 19, 2017.</ref>

In 2008 an automated sprinkler system was installed at a cost of $800,000. Heavy foot traffic, a multitude of plant types, the garden's historical and cultural importance, and a variety of [[microclimate]]s increased the complexity of the automated system.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hunterindustries.com/site-study/hunter-takes-boston-public-gardens-21st-century|title=Hunter Takes Boston Public Gardens into 21st Century|work=Hunter Industries|access-date=2017-03-20|language=en}}</ref>

Originally, the Charles Street side of the Public Garden (along with the adjacent portions of Boston Common) was used as an unofficial dumping ground, due to being the lowest-lying portion of the Garden; this, along with the Garden's originally being a salt marsh, resulted in this edge of the Public Garden being "a moist stew that reeked and that was a mess to walk over, steering people to other parts of the park". Although plans had long been in place to regrade this portion of the Garden, the cost of moving the amount of soil necessary (approximately {{cvt|9000|cuyd|m3}}, weighing {{cvt|14,000|ST|kg}}) prevented the work from being undertaken. This finally changed in the summer of 1895, when the required quantity of soil was made available as a result of the excavation of the [[Tremont Street Subway]] and was used to regrade the Charles Street sides of both the Garden and the Common.<ref>{{cite book|last=Most|first=Doug|date=2014|title=The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America's First Subway|publisher=St. Martin's Press|pages=233–234|isbn=978-1-250-06135-5}}</ref>

The Public Garden is managed jointly between the Mayor's Office, The Parks Department of the City of Boston, and the non-profit [[Friends of the Public Garden]]. It was designated a [[Boston Landmark]] by the [[Boston Landmarks Commission]] in 1977 and declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1987.<ref name="nrhpinv2">{{citation|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Boston Public Garden|url={{NHLS url|id=87000761}} |format=pdf|date=November 1985 |author=James H. Charleton |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=87000761|title=''Accompanying five photos, from 1985 and undated''|photos=y}}&nbsp;{{small|(32&nbsp;KB)}}</ref><ref name="nhlsum"/>

The song ''Twilight in Boston'' by [[Jonathan Richman]] mentions the Garden (track in the album ''[[I, Jonathan]]'').<ref>''backyardroadtrips.com'', "I'm in love with Massachusetts, in the footsteps of Jonathan Richman"
[https://backyardroadtrips.com/2020/10/09/im-in-love-with-massachusetts-in-the-footsteps-of-jonathan-richman/]</ref>


==Description==
==Description==
[[File:Maid of the Mist and Washington statue, Public Garden, Boston, Mass, by Soule, John P., 1827-1904 2.png|thumb|"Maid of the Mist" statue of [[Venus (goddess)|Venus]] and behind it of George Washington in a [[stereoscopic]] image by [[John P. Soule]]]]
[[File:Maid of the Mist and Washington statue, Public Garden, Boston, Mass, by Soule, John P., 1827-1904 2.png|thumb|300px|''Maid of the Mist'' statue of [[Venus (goddess)|Venus]] and behind it of George Washington in a [[stereoscopic]] image by [[John P. Soule]]]]
[[File:2017 Boston Public Garden Swan Boats from west closeup.jpg|thumb|300px|Swan boats tied up (2017)]]
Together with the [[Boston Common]], the parks form the northern terminus of the [[Emerald Necklace]], a long string of parks designed by [[Frederick Law Olmsted]]. While the Common is primarily unstructured open space, the Public Garden contains a pond and a large series of formal plantings that are maintained by the city and others and vary from season to season. Mostly flat and varying in elevation by less than five feet, the garden is designed in the style of an [[English landscape garden]]. A straight pathway, including a bridge that crosses over its pond, spans the two main entrances of Charles and Arlington streets; but its pathways are otherwise winding and asymmetrical.<ref>Boston Landmarks Commission Study report on the Public Garden, 1975. p12</ref>

Together with the [[Boston Common]], the parks form the northern terminus of the [[Emerald Necklace]], a long string of parks designed by [[Frederick Law Olmsted]]. While the Common is primarily unstructured open space, the Public Garden contains a pond and a large series of formal plantings that are maintained by the city and others and vary from season to season. Mostly flat and varying in elevation by less than five feet, the garden is designed in the style of an [[English landscape garden]]. A straight pathway, including a bridge that crosses over its pond, spans the two main entrances of Charles and Arlington streets; but its pathways are otherwise winding and asymmetrical.<ref>Boston Landmarks Commission Study report on the Public Garden, 1975. p12</ref>


The Public Garden is rectangular in shape and is bounded on the south by [[Boylston Street]], on the west by Arlington Street, and on the north by [[Beacon Street]] where it faces [[Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts|Beacon Hill]]. On its east side, [[Charles Street (Boston)|Charles Street]] divides the Public Garden from the Common. The greenway connecting the Public Garden with the rest of the Emerald Necklace is the strip of park that runs west down the center of [[Commonwealth Avenue, Boston|Commonwealth Avenue]] towards the [[Back Bay Fens]] and the [[Muddy River, Massachusetts|Muddy River]].
The Public Garden is rectangular in shape and is bounded on the south by [[Boylston Street]], on the west by Arlington Street, and on the north by [[Beacon Street]] where it faces [[Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts|Beacon Hill]]. On its east side, [[Charles Street (Boston)|Charles Street]] divides the Public Garden from the Common. The greenway connecting the Public Garden with the rest of the Emerald Necklace is the strip of park that runs west down the center of [[Commonwealth Avenue, Boston|Commonwealth Avenue]] towards the [[Back Bay Fens]] and the [[Muddy River, Massachusetts|Muddy River]].


=== The pond ===
===The pond===
During the warmer seasons, the {{convert|4|acre|m2}} pond is the home of a great many ducks, as well as of one or more [[swan]]s. A popular tourist attraction is the [[Swan Boats (Boston, Massachusetts)|Swan Boats]], which began operating in 1877.<ref name="Davenport">{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D1FFC39591A728DDDAE0A94D1405B848AF1D3&scp=3&sq=%22boston%20public%20garden%22&st=cse|title=Boston's Uncommon Park|last=Davenport|first=Arthur|date=27 September 1964|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=21 April 2010|location=New York}}</ref> For a small fee, tourists can sit on a boat ornamented with a white swan at the rear. The boat is then pedaled around the pond by a tour guide sitting within the swan.
During the warmer seasons, the {{convert|4|acre|m2}} pond is the home of a great many ducks, as well as of one or more [[swan]]s. A popular tourist attraction is the [[Swan Boats (Boston, Massachusetts)|Swan Boats]], which began operating in 1877.<ref name="Davenport">{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D1FFC39591A728DDDAE0A94D1405B848AF1D3&scp=3&sq=%22boston%20public%20garden%22&st=cse|title=Boston's Uncommon Park|last=Davenport|first=Arthur|date=27 September 1964|work=The New York Times|access-date=21 April 2010|location=New York}}</ref> For a small fee, tourists can sit on a boat ornamented with a white swan at the rear. The boat is then pedaled around the pond by a tour guide sitting within the swan.


The current pair of swans are [[mute swan]]s named '''Romeo''' and '''Juliet''' after the [[Romeo and Juliet|Shakespearian couple]], however, it was found that both are female.<ref>{{cite news
Since 2020, no real swans have lived in the pond. Although, there have been pairs of swans in the past. The most recent pair were [[mute swan]]s named '''Romeo''' and '''Juliet''' after the [[Romeo and Juliet|Shakespearian couple]], despite both being female.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Slack
| last = Slack
| first = Donovan
| first = Donovan
Line 53: Line 81:
| date = 2005-08-12
| date = 2005-08-12
| url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/08/12/thou_art_no_romeo/
| url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/08/12/thou_art_no_romeo/
| accessdate = 2009-12-26 }}</ref>
| access-date = 2009-12-26 }}</ref>


Being no more than a few feet in depth at its deepest point, the pond easily freezes during the colder months. In 1879, the Boston City Council passed an order to maintain the pond for skating during the winter;<ref>Reports of the Proceedings of City Council of Boston; 1879.</ref> today, there is an official skating rink maintained at [[Frog Pond]] on the Common, instead.
Being no more than three feet deep at its deepest point,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/04/02/swan-boats-getting-ready-for-their-public-garden-debut/QWTE7W8ar0PG8W3qInELQL/story.html|title=As another spring arrives, another season for the Swan Boats nears |work=The Boston Globe|access-date=2017-04-03}}</ref> the pond easily freezes during the colder months. In 1879, the Boston City Council passed an order to maintain the pond for skating during the winter;<ref>Reports of the Proceedings of City Council of Boston; 1879.</ref> today, there is an official skating rink maintained at [[Frog Pond]] on the Common, instead.


The pond represented a significant health concern shortly after it was constructed, as it was fed by a combination of salt water from the [[Charles River]], sewer water, and fresh water from Frog Pond in the Common.<ref>Reports of the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston; 1882.</ref> As a result, there was often a thick slime present in the pond, and an accompanying stench. Consequently, the caretakers of the garden drain and clean the pond annually.<ref>Reports on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston; 1992</ref>
The pond represented a significant health concern shortly after it was constructed, as it was fed by a combination of salt water from the [[Charles River]], sewer water, and fresh water from Frog Pond in the Common.<ref>Reports of the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston; 1882.</ref> As a result, there was often a thick slime present in the pond, and an accompanying stench. Consequently, the caretakers of the garden drain and clean the pond annually.<ref>Reports on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston; 1992</ref>
[[File:Boston Public Garden IMG 20180301 101718164.jpg|thumb|left|275px|The pond drained for maintenance]]

{{clear}}


===Plantings===
===Plantings===
Permanent flower plantings in the garden include numerous varieties of roses, bulbs, and flowering shrubs. The beds flanking the central pathway are replanted on a rotating schedule throughout the year, with different flowers for each season from mid-spring through early autumn. Plantings are supplied from 14 greenhouses the city operates at Franklin Park for the purpose.<ref name="Davenport"/>
Permanent flower plantings in the garden include numerous varieties of roses, bulbs, and flowering shrubs. The beds flanking the central pathway are replanted on a rotating schedule throughout the year, with different flowers for each season from mid-spring through early autumn. Plantings are supplied from 14 greenhouses the city operates at Franklin Park for the purpose.<ref name="Davenport"/>


The Public Garden is planted with a wide assortment of native and introduced trees; prominent among these are the [[Salix babylonica#Horticultural selections and related hybrids|weeping willows]] around the shore of the lagoon and the European and American [[elm]]s that line the garden's pathways, along with [[Aesculus|horse chestnuts]], [[dawn redwood]]s, European [[beech]]es, [[Ginkgo biloba|ginkgo]] trees, and one [[Sequoia sempervirens|California redwood]]. Other notable trees include:<ref>City of Boston. Public Garden. [http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/streettrees/pdfs/map.pdf Notable trees]. Retrieved 2011-10-16</ref>
The Public Garden is planted with a wide assortment of native and introduced trees; prominent among these are the [[Salix babylonica#Horticultural selections and related hybrids|weeping willows]] around the shore of the lagoon and the European and American [[elm]]s that line the garden's pathways, along with [[Aesculus|horse chestnuts]], [[dawn redwood]]s, European [[beech]]es, [[Ginkgo biloba|ginkgo]] trees, and one [[Sequoia sempervirens|California redwood]]. Other notable trees include:<ref>City of Boston. Public Garden. [http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/streettrees/pdfs/map.pdf Notable trees] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019152020/http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/streettrees/pdfs/map.pdf |date=2011-10-19 }}. Retrieved 2011-10-16</ref>
{{col-begin}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
{{col-1-of-4}}
* Beech trees
* Beech trees
** European beech
** European beech
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** Weeping European beech
** Weeping European beech
* River birch
* River birch
* Castor aurelia
* Castor aralia
* Western catalpa
* Western catalpa
* Kwanzan cherry
* Kwanzan cherry
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* Tea crab
* Tea crab
* Bald Cypress
* Bald Cypress
{{col-2-of-4}}
* Elm trees
* Elm trees
** American elm
** American elm
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** Littleleaf linden
** Littleleaf linden
* Star magnolia
* Star magnolia
{{col-3-of-4}}
* Maidenhair tree
* Maidenhair tree
* Maple trees
* Maple trees
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** Pagoda tree
** Pagoda tree
** Weeping pagoda
** Weeping pagoda
{{col-3-of-3}}
* Redwood trees
* Redwood trees
** Dawn redwood
** Dawn redwood
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* Yellowwood
* Yellowwood
* Weeping willow
* Weeping willow
{{col-end}}
{{div col end}}


===Statues and structures===
===Statues and structures===
Several [[statues]] are located throughout the Public Garden.
Several [[statues]] are located throughout the Public Garden:
[[File:USA-Public Garden0.JPG|thumb|left|Statue of George Washington]]
[[File:George Washington statue in the Boston Public Garden - DSC08205.JPG|thumb|right|[[Equestrian statue of George Washington (Boston)|Equestrian statue of George Washington]], designed by [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]]]]
* Located at the Arlington Street gate and facing Commonwealth Avenue is the [[Equestrian statue of George Washington (Boston)|equestrian statue of George Washington]], designed and cast by [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]]. Unveiled on July 3, 1869, the statue itself is 16 feet tall and made of bronze and stands upon a granite pedestal of {{convert|16|ft}}, for a total height of {{convert|38|ft}}. The statue was funded mostly by donations from local citizens and was constructed entirely by Massachusetts artists and artisans.<ref>{{Cite book|title=King's Dictionary of Boston|last=Bacon|first=Edwin|publisher=Moses King|year=1883|location=Boston|pages=495}}</ref>

* Just north of the Equestrian Statue is Mary E. Moore's "[[Small Child Fountain]]".<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150630105752/http://www.publicartboston.com/content/small-child-fountain Boston Art Commission: Small Child Fountain]}}</ref>
* Located at the Arlington Street gate and facing Commonwealth Avenue is the ''[[equestrianism|Equestrian]] Statue of [[George Washington]]'', designed and cast by [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]]. Unveiled on July 3, 1869, the statue itself is 16 feet tall and made of bronze, and stands upon a granite pedestal of 16 feet, for a total height of 38 feet. The statue was funded mostly by donations from local citizens, and was constructed entirely by Massachusetts artists and artisans.<ref>{{Cite book|title=King's Dictionary of Boston|last=Bacon|first=Edwin|publisher=Moses King|year=1883|isbn=|location=Boston|pages=495}}</ref>
* The [[Ether Monument]], located towards the corner of Arlington and Beacon streets in the northwest corner of the garden, commemorates the first use of [[diethyl ether|ether]] as an anesthetic.<ref name="fodors.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=boston@33&cur_section=sig&property_id=51905 |title=Boston Public Garden {{!}} Boston Sights<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2007-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806135704/http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=boston@33&cur_section=sig&property_id=51905 |archive-date=2007-08-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Designed by [[John Quincy Adams Ward]] and gifted to the city on June 27, 1868, by Thomas Lee, it is the oldest monument in the garden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/public-garden/sculpture-memorials/|title=Sculpture & Memorials {{!}} Friends of the Public Garden|website=friendsofthepublicgarden.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-18}}</ref> Standing 30 feet tall and made of granite and red marble, the statue's carved figures tell the [[Parable of the Good Samaritan]].<ref>Bacon p 169</ref>
* Just north of the Equestrian Statue is Mary E. Moore's "Small Child Fountain".<ref>[http://www.publicartboston.com/content/small-child-fountain Boston Art Commission: Small Child Fountain]</ref>
* The [[Ether Monument]], located towards the corner of Arlington and Beacon streets in the northwest corner of the garden, commemorates the first use of [[ether]] as an anesthetic.<ref name="fodors.com">[http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=boston@33&cur_section=sig&property_id=51905 Boston Public Garden | Boston Sights<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Designed by [[John Quincy Adams Ward]] and gifted to the city on June 27, 1868 by Thomas Lee, it is the oldest monument in the garden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/public-garden/sculpture-memorials/|title=Sculpture & Memorials {{!}} Friends of the Public Garden|website=friendsofthepublicgarden.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-18}}</ref> Standing 30 feet tall and made of granite and red marble, the statue's carved figures tell the [[Parable of the Good Samaritan]].<ref>Bacon p 169</ref>
* Just north of the Ether Monument is [[Daniel Chester French]] and Henry Bacon's [[George Robert White Memorial|memorial fountain]] to the Boston philanthropist [[George Robert White]] entitled "The Angel of the Waters", created in 1924. Constructed of granite and bronze, the fountain was disabled in the 1980s and remained so until 2016 when it was repaired and restored by the [[Friends of the Public Garden]] at a cost of $700,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/programs-projects/restoration-of-the-george-robert-white-memorial-fountain-in-the-public-garden/|title=Restoration of the George Robert White Memorial Fountain in the Public Garden {{!}} Friends of the Public Garden|website=friendsofthepublicgarden.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319111042/http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/programs-projects/restoration-of-the-george-robert-white-memorial-fountain-in-the-public-garden/|archive-date=2017-03-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The first statue in the Garden that was made by a woman was Anna Coleman Ladd's [[Triton Babies Fountain]]<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150501222449/http://www.publicartboston.com/content/triton-babies-foundation Boston Art Commission: Triton Babies Fountain]}}</ref> on the east side of the garden. Though some people think the children are a boy and girl, they are in fact her two daughters. It was acquired by the garden in 1927.
* Just north of the Ether Monument is [[Daniel Chester French]] and Henry Bacon's memorial fountain to the Boston philanthropist [[George Robert White]] entitled "The Angel of the Waters", created in 1924. Constructed of granite and bronze, the fountain was disabled in the 1980s and remained so until 2016 when it was repaired and restored by the [[Friends of the Public Garden]] at a cost of $700,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/programs-projects/restoration-of-the-george-robert-white-memorial-fountain-in-the-public-garden/|title=Restoration of the George Robert White Memorial Fountain in the Public Garden {{!}} Friends of the Public Garden|website=friendsofthepublicgarden.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-18}}</ref>
* The first statue in the Garden that was made by a woman was Anna Coleman Ladd's Triton Babies Fountain<ref>[http://www.publicartboston.com/content/triton-babies-foundation Boston Art Commission: Triton Babies Fountain]</ref> on the east side of the garden. Though some people think the children are a boy and girl, they are in fact her two daughters. It was acquired by the garden in 1927.
* Bashka Paeff's "[[Boy and Bird Fountain|Boy and Bird]]",<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150630105722/http://www.publicartboston.com/content/boy-and-bird-fountain Boston Art Commission: Boy and Bird Fountain]}}</ref> in the fountain on the west side of the garden, was made by a Russian immigrant who did the model of it while she was working as a ticket taker at the Park Street Station of the MBTA.
* Bashka Paeff's "Boy and Bird",<ref>[http://www.publicartboston.com/content/boy-and-bird-fountain Boston Art Commission: Boy and Bird Fountain]</ref> in the fountain on the west side of the garden, was made by a Russian immigrant who did the model of it while she was working as a ticket taker at the Park Street Station of the MBTA.
* Lillian Saarinen's fountain piece, "Bagheera",<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150630105712/http://www.publicartboston.com/content/bagheera-fountain Boston Art Commission: Bagheera Fountain]}}</ref> a dynamic statue of the panther from Kipling's Jungle Book, is nearly hidden by a tree.
* A [[Make Way for Ducklings (sculpture)|set of bronze statues]] by [[Nancy Schön]], dating from 1987 and based on the main characters from the children's story ''[[Make Way for Ducklings]]'', is located between the pond and the Charles and Beacon streets entrance.
* Lillian Saarinen's fountain piece, "Bagheera",<ref>[http://www.publicartboston.com/content/bagheera-fountain Boston Art Commission: Bagheera Fountain]</ref> a dynamic statue of the panther from Kipling's Jungle Book, is nearly hidden by a tree.
* At the east gate on Charles Street is a [[Statue of Edward Everett Hale|bronze statue]] of [[Edward Everett Hale]] by [[Bela Pratt]], presented to the city on May 22, 1913.<ref>Report of the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1913</ref>
* A set of bronze statues dating from 1987 and based on the main characters from the children's story ''[[Make Way for Ducklings]]'' is located between the pond and the Charles and Beacon streets entrance.
* At the east gate on Charles Street is a bronze statue of [[Edward Everett Hale]] by [[Bela Pratt]], and presented to the city on May 22 of 1913.<ref>Report of the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1913</ref>
* Along the south walk in the park is a [[Statue of Wendell Phillips|statue]] erected in 1915 of [[Wendell Phillips]] (1811–1884), an orator and abolitionist. Mayor [[John F. Fitzgerald]] appropriated funds of $20,000<ref>Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1912.</ref> for the statue, which was designed by [[Daniel Chester French]].
* Colonel [[Thomas Cass (colonel)|Thomas Cass]], commander of the [[9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry]] which served in the American Civil War is also memorialized on the south walk. [[Statue of Thomas Cass|The statue]] was erected in 1899.
* Along the south walk in the park is a statue erected in 1915 of [[Wendell Phillips]] (1811–1884), an orator and abolitionist.
* Colonel [[Thomas Cass (colonel)|Thomas Cass]], commander of the [[9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry]] which served in the American Civil War is also memorialized on the south walk. The statue was erected in 1899.
* Next to the statue of Cass is [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]]'s [[Statue of Charles Sumner (Boston)|statue of Charles Sumner]], a U.S. senator from Massachusetts from 1851 to 1874. This statue was constructed in 1878.
* The walk also has a [[Statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko (Boston)|statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko]], a Polish citizen who fought as a colonel in the American Revolution. The statue was erected by artist [[Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson]] in 1927.
* Next to the statue of Cass is [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]]'s statue of [[Charles Sumner]], a senator from Massachusetts during the Civil War era. This statue was constructed in 1878.
* A [[statue of William Ellery Channing]] stands at the southwest corner of the garden, facing the [[Arlington Street Church]]. Completed in June 1903<ref>{{Cite news|title=Staging Removed from the Channing Statue in the Public Garden|date=15 June 1903|work=Boston Daily Globe|id = {{ProQuest|499928520}}}}</ref> by [[Herbert Adams (sculptor)|Herbert Adams]], it was given to the city by John Foster, a member of that church, and placed in its location at his request.<ref>Boston Landmarks Commission Study report on the Public Garden, 1975. p13</ref>
* The walk also has a statue of [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]], a Polish citizen who fought in the American Revolution as a Colonel. The statue was erected by artist [[Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson]] in 1927.
* The [[Boston Public Garden Foot Bridge]] crossing the lagoon, designed by [[William G. Preston]], opened on June 1, 1867.<ref>Boston Landmarks Commission Study Report on the Public Garden, 1975. p18</ref> It was the world's shortest functioning [[suspension bridge]] before its conversion to a [[girder bridge]] in 1921. Its original suspension system is now merely decorative.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017|reason=The commission in 1975 still calls this bridge a suspension bridge, and does not mention any work done on the bridge in 1921. This claim needs verification.}}
* A statue of [[William Ellery Channing]] stands at the southwest corner of the garden, facing the [[Arlington Street Church]]. Erected in 1903 by [[Herbert Adams (sculptor)|Herbert Adams]], it was given to the city by John Foster, a member of that church, and placed in its location at his request.<ref>Boston Landmarks Commission Study report on the Public Garden, 1975. p13</ref>
* A [[Japanese Lantern (Boston)|Japanese garden lantern]] dating from 1587 was gifted to Boston by Bunkio Matsuki and installed at the edge of the pond in 1906.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.publicartboston.com/content/japanese-lantern|title=Japanese Lantern » Public Art Boston|website=www.publicartboston.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-20
* The bridge crossing the lagoon, designed by [[William G. Preston]], opened in 1869.<ref>Boston Landmarks Commission Study Report on the Public Garden, 1975. p18</ref> It was the world's shortest functioning [[suspension bridge]] before its conversion to a [[girder bridge]] in 1921. Its original suspension system is now merely decorative.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017|reason=The commission in 1975 still calls this bridge a suspension bridge, and doesn't list any work done in 1921 on the bridge. This claim needs verification.}}
|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425094230/http://www.publicartboston.com/content/japanese-lantern
* In July 2004 a memorial was dedicated to the 206 people from Massachusetts who died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Designed by [[Victor Walker]], it is located just inside the Public Garden, at the corner of Arlington and Newbury streets.
|archive-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref> One of the oldest lanterns of its kind in existence, it was originally in the garden of the Momoya palace in [[Kyoto]] and is made of cast iron.<ref>{{Cite news|title=PUBLIC GARDEN LIGHTHOUSE.: A Japanese Gift to City of Boston.|date=Feb 4, 1906|work=Boston Daily Globe|id = {{ProQuest|500588707}}}}</ref>
* In July 2004, a [[Boston Public Garden 9/11 Memorial|memorial]] was dedicated to the 206 people from Massachusetts who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Designed by Victor Walker, it is located just inside the Public Garden, at the corner of Arlington and Newbury streets.
* At the beginning of the bridge by the steps leading to the Swan Boats is a plaque honoring United States Marine Lt. Michael P. Quinn of Charlestown, who was killed in action in Vietnam on August 29, 1969. The plaque was dedicated by the committee members of the Michael P. Quinn Scholarship Fund on Patriots Day in 1986.


===Care and upkeep===
===Care and upkeep===
The park is maintained by the City of Boston, which in 2005 spent $1.2m to keep up its three parks.<ref name="money">{{cite journal|last=Mohl|first=Bruce|date=13 August 2006|title=Can a park have too much money?|journal=Boston Globe|url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/08/13/can_a_park_have_too_much_money/|accessdate=28 January 2010}}</ref> The city's efforts are supplemented by a charitable organization known as the ''Friends of the Public Garden'', also known as the ''Rose Brigade''. The charity helped finance the repair of the ''Ether Monument'' in 2006, and hires specialists to help care for the trees and bushes.<ref name="money" /> Volunteers meet regularly to prune and maintain bushes. Financial support also comes from private sources such as the [[Beacon Hill Garden Club]].<ref>Friends of the Public Garden. [http://fopg.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/beacon-hill-garden-club-to-donate-to-the-friends/ Beacon Hill Garden Club to Donate $55,000 to the Friends]. Nov. 17, 2010</ref>
The park is maintained by the City of Boston, which in 2005 spent $1.2 million to keep up its three parks.<ref name="money">{{cite journal|last=Mohl|first=Bruce|date=13 August 2006|title=Can a park have too much money?|journal=Boston Globe|url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/08/13/can_a_park_have_too_much_money/|access-date=28 January 2010}}</ref> The city's efforts are supplemented by a charitable organization known as the ''Friends of the Public Garden'', also known as the ''Rose Brigade''. The charity helped finance the repair of the ''Ether Monument'' in 2006, and hires specialists to help care for the trees and bushes.<ref name="money" /> Volunteers meet regularly to prune and maintain bushes. Financial support also comes from private sources such as the [[Beacon Hill Garden Club]].<ref>Friends of the Public Garden. [http://fopg.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/beacon-hill-garden-club-to-donate-to-the-friends/ Beacon Hill Garden Club to Donate $55,000 to the Friends] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816135745/http://fopg.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/beacon-hill-garden-club-to-donate-to-the-friends/ |date=2011-08-16 }}. Nov. 17, 2010</ref>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<div align=center><gallery perrow=5 widths=150px heights=150px>
<div align=center><gallery perrow="3" widths="267px" heights="167px">

Image: Horace Gray.JPG|Horace Gray, father of the Boston Public Garden
Image:Public Garden in Winter 1901.JPG|Boston Public Garden in the winter of 1901
Image:Public Garden in Winter 1901.JPG|Boston Public Garden in the winter of 1901
Image:Wendell Phillips Memorial Dedication 1915.JPG|Dedication ceremony of the Wendell Phillips Monument in July 1915
Image:Wendell Phillips Memorial Dedication 1915.JPG|Dedication ceremony of the Wendell Phillips Monument in July 1915
Image:Boston Public Garden Suspbridge.jpg|Lagoon bridge in the Boston Public Garden, 1989
File:2017 Boston Public Garden Lagoon Bridge from south.jpg|[[Boston Public Garden Foot Bridge|Lagoon bridge]] in the Boston Public Garden, 2017
Image:Boston Public Garden panorama.jpg|Panorama, 2006
Image:Boston Public Garden panorama.jpg|Panorama, 2006
Image:George Washington Statue, Boston Public Garden, Boston, Massachusetts.JPG|[[Equestrian statue]] of [[George Washington]] designed by [[Thomas Ball (artist)|Thomas Ball]], 2007
File:Statue of Wendell Phillips in the Boston Public Garden.jpg|[[Statue of Wendell Phillips|Memorial]] to [[Wendell Phillips]], 2007
File:Triton Babies, Public Garden, Boston, MA - IMG 5470.JPG|[[Triton Babies Fountain]]
File:Statue of Wendell Phillips in the Boston Public Garden.jpg|Memorial to [[Wendell Phillips]], 2007
</gallery><gallery widths="150px" heights="200px">
File:Boston-public-garden-sign.jpg|Entrance sign, 2008

Image:Ether Monument Overview.JPG|The Ether Monument by [[John Quincy Adams Ward]], 2008
Image:Horace Gray.JPG|Horace Gray, father of the Boston Public Garden
File:2017 Boston Public Garden sign.jpg|Entrance sign, 2017
Image:Ether Monument Overview.JPG|The [[Ether Monument]] by [[John Quincy Adams Ward]], 2008
File:Charles Sumner statue in Boston Public Garden - detail.JPG|[[Statue of Charles Sumner (Boston)|Statue of Charles Sumner]]
Image:2013 Boston Public Garden ducklings Red Sox fans 25 October.jpg|''[[Make Way for Ducklings]]'' by [[Nancy Schön]], specially costumed as [[2013 World Series|Red Sox]] fans, October 2013
Image:2013 Boston Public Garden ducklings Red Sox fans 25 October.jpg|''[[Make Way for Ducklings]]'' by [[Nancy Schön]], specially costumed as [[2013 World Series|Red Sox]] fans, October 2013
File:Boston Public Garden (36008p).jpg|Public Garden in November 2019
File:The swan pond at the Boston Public Garden.jpg|The swan pond at the Boston Public Garden with a view of the Arlington Street Church steeple.
</gallery></div>
</gallery></div>


==See also==
== In popular culture ==

=== Films and TV ===
* [[Ted (film)]] - John and Lori ride the swan boats<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://moviemaps.org/locations/1qu|title=Movies Filmed at Swan Boats (Boston Public Garden) — Movie Maps|website=moviemaps.org|access-date=2017-03-15}}</ref>
* [[Good Will Hunting]] - The park bench where Will and Sean talk in the movie is annually decorated by Boston citizens on the anniversary of [[Robin Williams]]' death.

=== Literature ===
* In the [[E. B. White]] novel, ''[[The Trumpet of the Swan]]'', Louis plays his trumpet in the Public Garden.
* [[Robert Lowell]] wrote a poem entitled "The Public Garden".
* [[Robert McCloskey]] wrote ''[[Make Way for Ducklings]]'', a children's story about a family of ducks and their journey to the Public Garden.

=== Painting, photography, and visual arts ===
* Scenes from the Public Garden have been painted by notable artists including [[Edward Brodney]].

== See also ==
* [[List of botanical gardens in the United States]]
* [[List of botanical gardens in the United States]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston]]
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==References==
==References==
'''Notes'''
*{{cite book |last= Stevens|first= Charles W.|authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title= New England Magazine|origyear= |url= |format= |accessdate= |edition= |series= |volume= |date= |year= |month= |publisher= Warren F Kellogg|location= Boston|language= |isbn= |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages= 343–356|chapter= |chapterurl= https://books.google.com/books?id=fLkVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=toc&dq=%22boston+public+garden%22&as_brr=1&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA345,M1|article=Boston Public Garden|quote= |ref= }}
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


'''Bibliography'''
==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last= Stevens|first= Charles W.|title= New England Magazine|year= 1901|publisher= Warren F Kellogg|location= Boston|pages= 343–356|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fLkVAAAAYAAJ&q=%22boston+public+garden%22|article=Boston Public Garden}}

'''Further reading'''
* {{cite journal |journal=Gleason's Pictorial |location=Boston, Mass. |url=https://archive.org/stream/gleasonspictoria04glea#page/137/mode/1up |title=Boston Public Garden, as it should be |year=1853 |volume=4 }}
* {{cite journal |journal=Gleason's Pictorial |location=Boston, Mass. |url=https://archive.org/stream/gleasonspictoria04glea#page/137/mode/1up |title=Boston Public Garden, as it should be |year=1853 |volume=4 }}
* Edwin G. Heath. From Round Marsh to Public Garden. [https://books.google.com/books?id=quIVAQAAIAAJ The Bostonian], v.2, no.6, 1895.
* Edwin G. Heath. From Round Marsh to Public Garden. [https://books.google.com/books?id=quIVAQAAIAAJ The Bostonian], v.2, no.6, 1895.
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Boston Public Garden}}
{{Commons category|Boston Public Garden}}
*[http://www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org/ Friends of the Public Garden]
* [http://www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org/ Friends of the Public Garden]
*[http://fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=boston@33&cur_section=sig&property_id=51905#Fodors_Review Public Garden. Fodors.com]. May 22, 2005.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050521010144/http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=boston@33&cur_section=sig&property_id=51905#Fodors_Review Public Garden. Fodors.com]. May 22, 2005.
*[http://www.swanboats.com/new/public_garden.shtml The Swan Boats of Boston - The Public Garden]. May 22, 2005.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050404165901/http://swanboats.com/new/public_garden.shtml The Swan Boats of Boston - The Public Garden]. May 22, 2005.
*[http://ben-yosef.com/pics/bostonpublicgardens/ Photos of the Public Garden]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070907093920/http://ben-yosef.com/pics/bostonpublicgardens/ Photos of the Public Garden]
*[http://www.celebrateboston.com/attractions/public-garden.htm CelebrateBoston: Boston Public Garden]
* [http://www.celebrateboston.com/attractions/public-garden.htm CelebrateBoston: Boston Public Garden]
*City of Boston, https://www.cityofboston.gov/landmarks/publications/ Boston Landmarks Commission][https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/Boston%20Public%20Garden%20%235%20Study%20Report_tcm3-42377.pdf Boston Public Garden Study Report]
* [https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/Boston%20Public%20Garden%20%235%20Study%20Report_tcm3-42377.pdf Boston Public Garden Study Report] published by the Boston Landmarks Commission, 1977
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{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
{{Emerald Necklace}}
{{Boston landmarks}}
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{{Parks in Boston}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
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[[Category:1837 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Botanical gardens in Massachusetts]]
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[[Category:Emerald Necklace]]
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[[Category:Historic districts in Suffolk County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Back Bay, Boston]]
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[[Category:U.S. Route 20]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 20]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Boston]]
[[Category:Historic districts in Suffolk County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1837 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts]]

Latest revision as of 01:41, 12 November 2024

Boston Public Garden
Boston Public Garden pond in 2018
Map
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
Area24 acres (97,000 m2)[1]
Opened1837
Boston Public Garden
NRHP reference No.72000144 (original)
87000761 (new)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 12, 1972 (original, in NRHP also including Boston Common)
February 27, 1987 (new, as NHL of Boston Public Garden alone)[2]
Designated NHLDFebruary 27, 1987[3]
Boston Public Garden pond in May

The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common. It is a part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks and is bounded by Charles Street and Boston Common to the east, Beacon Street and Beacon Hill to the north, Arlington Street and Back Bay to the west, and Boylston Street to the south. The Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in America.

History

[edit]

Boston's Back Bay, including the land the garden sits on, was mudflats until filling began in the early 1800s. The land of the Public Garden was the earliest filled, as the area that is now Charles Street had been used as a ropewalk since 1796.[4] The town of Boston granted ropemakers use of the land on July 30, 1794,[5] after a fire had destroyed the ropewalks in a more populated area of the city. As a condition of its use, the ropewalk's proprietors were required to build a seawall and fill in the land which is now Charles Street and the land immediately bordering it (now a part of the Public Garden).

Much of the landfill material came from Mount Vernon, formerly a hill in the Beacon Hill area of Boston. Initially, gravel and soil were brought from the hill to the landfill area by handcart. By 1804, a gravity railroad had been constructed to rapidly bring material from the top of the hill to the marsh; today, Mount Vernon no longer exists, having been completely removed to be used as landfill for the Back Bay.

In February 1824, the city of Boston purchased back the land granted to the ropemakers, for a cost of $50,000.[6] The next year, a proposal to turn the land into a graveyard was defeated by a vote of 1632 to 176. The Public Garden was established in 1837, when philanthropist Horace Gray[7] petitioned for the use of land as the first public botanical garden in the United States. By 1839, a corporation was formed, called Horace Gray and Associates, and made the "Proprietors of the Botanic Garden in Boston."[8] The corporation was chartered with creating what is now the Boston Public Garden. Nonetheless, there was constant pressure for the land to be sold to private interests for the construction of new housing. The year that Boston's Public Garden opened, Mr. John Fottler Sr., dubbed "the Father of Our Parks", delivered the first load of plants ever set at the gardens, from the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder of Dorchester.[9]

While most of the land of the present-day garden had been filled in by the mid-1800s, the area of the Back Bay remained an undeveloped tidal basin. In 1842, the state legislature created The Commissioners on Boston Harbor and the Back Bay, in order to determine how to best develop the land; the state wanted to control the lands and to build an upper-class neighborhood in the area beyond the Public Garden. The City of Boston petitioned the state to grant control over the basin (which was controlled by the then-independent city of Roxbury), in hopes of generating significant revenue from any developments that would be built after filling it in. When the state commission rejected Boston's petition, the Boston City Council threatened to sell the garden to housing developers, which would have significantly reduced the desirability of the area for the upper-class elite that the state was hoping to attract.

The conflict between the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was finally resolved when the Tripartite Indenture of 1856 was agreed to by both parties and passed a general vote of citizens 6,287 to 99.[10] In the agreement, Boston gave up its rights to build upon the Public Garden; in return, it received a strip of land which is now a part of the garden, abutting Arlington Street.[11]

1850 plan for the Public Garden (not adopted)
Drawing of the Public Garden in 1850, facing east. Note the empty foreground: where the Back Bay neighborhood is today, mudflats are seen in this drawing.

In October 1859, Alderman Crane submitted the detailed plan for the Garden to the Committee on the Common and Public Squares and received approval.[12] Construction began quickly on the property, with the pond being finished that year and the wrought iron fence surrounding the perimeter erected in 1862. Today the north side of the pond has a small island, but it originally was a peninsula, connected to the land. The site became so popular with lovers that John Galvin, the city forester, decided to sever the connection with the land.[13]

The 24 acres (97,000 m2) landscape was designed by George F. Meacham. The paths and flower beds were laid out by the city engineer, James Slade, and the forester, John Galvin. The plan for the garden included a number of fountains and statues, many of which were erected in the late 1860s. The most notable statue is perhaps that of George Washington, done in 1869 by Thomas Ball, which dominates the western entrance to the park facing Commonwealth Avenue. The signature suspension bridge over the middle of the pond was erected in 1867.[14]

An 1899 drawing of the Common and garden. Compared to 49 years earlier, the Back Bay is now completely filled in, and the garden much more closely resembles that of today.
A 2017 satellite image of the Common and garden.

Gas lamps were originally used to light the garden at night, but in 1883, construction of electric lamps was begun. There was initially concern over the use of electric lamps, as it would require wires to be run through the garden, and some members of government feared that it would harm the aesthetics of the place.[15] But as electric lighting replaced gas lighting, and vandalism of the garden – such as the theft and destruction of its flowers – was a growing concern, electric lighting was eventually installed throughout.

In the early 20th century, baby alligators were kept in a basin near the Commonwealth Avenue entrance; they were fed live rats and mice by local residents.[16]

A flagpole stands today on the eastern side of the garden, close to Charles Street and just south of the main entrance there. The original flagpole was struck by lightning and destroyed in 1918, and in 1920 the city appropriated $2,500 for construction of a new one.[17] In 1982, the city granted an additional $25,000 for improvements to the flagpole. A circular granite bench was installed around the pole, with the work being done by the Friends of the Public Garden.[18]

On January 6, 1913, the City Council placed the garden, along with the Boston Common, under the direct management of the Public Grounds Department of the city. That department declared walking upon the grass of the Common or garden to be illegal, and arrests were made for that offense until at least the 1960s.[19][20] Today, sitting on the grass is permitted except for specific sections of the lawn where a posted sign forbids access.[21]

In 2008 an automated sprinkler system was installed at a cost of $800,000. Heavy foot traffic, a multitude of plant types, the garden's historical and cultural importance, and a variety of microclimates increased the complexity of the automated system.[22]

Originally, the Charles Street side of the Public Garden (along with the adjacent portions of Boston Common) was used as an unofficial dumping ground, due to being the lowest-lying portion of the Garden; this, along with the Garden's originally being a salt marsh, resulted in this edge of the Public Garden being "a moist stew that reeked and that was a mess to walk over, steering people to other parts of the park". Although plans had long been in place to regrade this portion of the Garden, the cost of moving the amount of soil necessary (approximately 9,000 cu yd (6,900 m3), weighing 14,000 short tons (13,000,000 kg)) prevented the work from being undertaken. This finally changed in the summer of 1895, when the required quantity of soil was made available as a result of the excavation of the Tremont Street Subway and was used to regrade the Charles Street sides of both the Garden and the Common.[23]

The Public Garden is managed jointly between the Mayor's Office, The Parks Department of the City of Boston, and the non-profit Friends of the Public Garden. It was designated a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1977 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.[1][3]

The song Twilight in Boston by Jonathan Richman mentions the Garden (track in the album I, Jonathan).[24]

Description

[edit]
Maid of the Mist statue of Venus and behind it of George Washington in a stereoscopic image by John P. Soule
Swan boats tied up (2017)

Together with the Boston Common, the parks form the northern terminus of the Emerald Necklace, a long string of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. While the Common is primarily unstructured open space, the Public Garden contains a pond and a large series of formal plantings that are maintained by the city and others and vary from season to season. Mostly flat and varying in elevation by less than five feet, the garden is designed in the style of an English landscape garden. A straight pathway, including a bridge that crosses over its pond, spans the two main entrances of Charles and Arlington streets; but its pathways are otherwise winding and asymmetrical.[25]

The Public Garden is rectangular in shape and is bounded on the south by Boylston Street, on the west by Arlington Street, and on the north by Beacon Street where it faces Beacon Hill. On its east side, Charles Street divides the Public Garden from the Common. The greenway connecting the Public Garden with the rest of the Emerald Necklace is the strip of park that runs west down the center of Commonwealth Avenue towards the Back Bay Fens and the Muddy River.

The pond

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During the warmer seasons, the 4 acres (16,000 m2) pond is the home of a great many ducks, as well as of one or more swans. A popular tourist attraction is the Swan Boats, which began operating in 1877.[26] For a small fee, tourists can sit on a boat ornamented with a white swan at the rear. The boat is then pedaled around the pond by a tour guide sitting within the swan.

Since 2020, no real swans have lived in the pond. Although, there have been pairs of swans in the past. The most recent pair were mute swans named Romeo and Juliet after the Shakespearian couple, despite both being female.[27]

Being no more than three feet deep at its deepest point,[28] the pond easily freezes during the colder months. In 1879, the Boston City Council passed an order to maintain the pond for skating during the winter;[29] today, there is an official skating rink maintained at Frog Pond on the Common, instead.

The pond represented a significant health concern shortly after it was constructed, as it was fed by a combination of salt water from the Charles River, sewer water, and fresh water from Frog Pond in the Common.[30] As a result, there was often a thick slime present in the pond, and an accompanying stench. Consequently, the caretakers of the garden drain and clean the pond annually.[31]

The pond drained for maintenance

Plantings

[edit]

Permanent flower plantings in the garden include numerous varieties of roses, bulbs, and flowering shrubs. The beds flanking the central pathway are replanted on a rotating schedule throughout the year, with different flowers for each season from mid-spring through early autumn. Plantings are supplied from 14 greenhouses the city operates at Franklin Park for the purpose.[26]

The Public Garden is planted with a wide assortment of native and introduced trees; prominent among these are the weeping willows around the shore of the lagoon and the European and American elms that line the garden's pathways, along with horse chestnuts, dawn redwoods, European beeches, ginkgo trees, and one California redwood. Other notable trees include:[32]

  • Beech trees
    • European beech
    • Purple beech
    • Weeping European beech
  • River birch
  • Castor aralia
  • Western catalpa
  • Kwanzan cherry
  • Kentucky coffee tree
  • Tea crab
  • Bald Cypress
  • Elm trees
    • American elm
    • Belgian elm
    • Camperdown elm
    • English elm
    • Rock elm
    • Scotch elm
  • Horsechestnut
  • Japanese larch
  • Linden trees
    • Common linden
    • Littleleaf linden
  • Star magnolia
  • Maidenhair tree
  • Maple trees
    • Norway maple
    • Red maple
    • Silver maple
  • Oak trees
    • Burr oak
    • English oak
    • Pin oak
  • Pagoda trees
    • Pagoda tree
    • Weeping pagoda
  • Redwood trees
    • Dawn redwood
    • Giant redwood
  • Silk tree
  • Silverbell
  • Japanese stewartia
  • Japanese tree lilac
  • Tulip tree
  • Tupelo
  • Yellowwood
  • Weeping willow

Statues and structures

[edit]

Several statues are located throughout the Public Garden:

Equestrian statue of George Washington, designed by Thomas Ball
  • Located at the Arlington Street gate and facing Commonwealth Avenue is the equestrian statue of George Washington, designed and cast by Thomas Ball. Unveiled on July 3, 1869, the statue itself is 16 feet tall and made of bronze and stands upon a granite pedestal of 16 feet (4.9 m), for a total height of 38 feet (12 m). The statue was funded mostly by donations from local citizens and was constructed entirely by Massachusetts artists and artisans.[33]
  • Just north of the Equestrian Statue is Mary E. Moore's "Small Child Fountain".[34]
  • The Ether Monument, located towards the corner of Arlington and Beacon streets in the northwest corner of the garden, commemorates the first use of ether as an anesthetic.[35] Designed by John Quincy Adams Ward and gifted to the city on June 27, 1868, by Thomas Lee, it is the oldest monument in the garden.[36] Standing 30 feet tall and made of granite and red marble, the statue's carved figures tell the Parable of the Good Samaritan.[37]
  • Just north of the Ether Monument is Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon's memorial fountain to the Boston philanthropist George Robert White entitled "The Angel of the Waters", created in 1924. Constructed of granite and bronze, the fountain was disabled in the 1980s and remained so until 2016 when it was repaired and restored by the Friends of the Public Garden at a cost of $700,000.[38]
  • The first statue in the Garden that was made by a woman was Anna Coleman Ladd's Triton Babies Fountain[39] on the east side of the garden. Though some people think the children are a boy and girl, they are in fact her two daughters. It was acquired by the garden in 1927.
  • Bashka Paeff's "Boy and Bird",[40] in the fountain on the west side of the garden, was made by a Russian immigrant who did the model of it while she was working as a ticket taker at the Park Street Station of the MBTA.
  • Lillian Saarinen's fountain piece, "Bagheera",[41] a dynamic statue of the panther from Kipling's Jungle Book, is nearly hidden by a tree.
  • A set of bronze statues by Nancy Schön, dating from 1987 and based on the main characters from the children's story Make Way for Ducklings, is located between the pond and the Charles and Beacon streets entrance.
  • At the east gate on Charles Street is a bronze statue of Edward Everett Hale by Bela Pratt, presented to the city on May 22, 1913.[42]
  • Along the south walk in the park is a statue erected in 1915 of Wendell Phillips (1811–1884), an orator and abolitionist. Mayor John F. Fitzgerald appropriated funds of $20,000[43] for the statue, which was designed by Daniel Chester French.
  • Colonel Thomas Cass, commander of the 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry which served in the American Civil War is also memorialized on the south walk. The statue was erected in 1899.
  • Next to the statue of Cass is Thomas Ball's statue of Charles Sumner, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts from 1851 to 1874. This statue was constructed in 1878.
  • The walk also has a statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish citizen who fought as a colonel in the American Revolution. The statue was erected by artist Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson in 1927.
  • A statue of William Ellery Channing stands at the southwest corner of the garden, facing the Arlington Street Church. Completed in June 1903[44] by Herbert Adams, it was given to the city by John Foster, a member of that church, and placed in its location at his request.[45]
  • The Boston Public Garden Foot Bridge crossing the lagoon, designed by William G. Preston, opened on June 1, 1867.[46] It was the world's shortest functioning suspension bridge before its conversion to a girder bridge in 1921. Its original suspension system is now merely decorative.[citation needed]
  • A Japanese garden lantern dating from 1587 was gifted to Boston by Bunkio Matsuki and installed at the edge of the pond in 1906.[47] One of the oldest lanterns of its kind in existence, it was originally in the garden of the Momoya palace in Kyoto and is made of cast iron.[48]
  • In July 2004, a memorial was dedicated to the 206 people from Massachusetts who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Designed by Victor Walker, it is located just inside the Public Garden, at the corner of Arlington and Newbury streets.
  • At the beginning of the bridge by the steps leading to the Swan Boats is a plaque honoring United States Marine Lt. Michael P. Quinn of Charlestown, who was killed in action in Vietnam on August 29, 1969. The plaque was dedicated by the committee members of the Michael P. Quinn Scholarship Fund on Patriots Day in 1986.

Care and upkeep

[edit]

The park is maintained by the City of Boston, which in 2005 spent $1.2 million to keep up its three parks.[49] The city's efforts are supplemented by a charitable organization known as the Friends of the Public Garden, also known as the Rose Brigade. The charity helped finance the repair of the Ether Monument in 2006, and hires specialists to help care for the trees and bushes.[49] Volunteers meet regularly to prune and maintain bushes. Financial support also comes from private sources such as the Beacon Hill Garden Club.[50]

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

  1. ^ a b James H. Charleton (November 1985), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Boston Public Garden (pdf), National Park Service and Accompanying five photos, from 1985 and undated (32 KB)
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Boston Public Gardens". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
  4. ^ Newman, William A. (2006). Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-Century Landfill Project. Boston: Northeastern University Press. pp. 20. ISBN 1555536808.
  5. ^ Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1875
  6. ^ Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1875.
  7. ^ Horace Gray: Father of the Boston Public Garden
  8. ^ Newman p 23
  9. ^ "Dorchester Atheneum: John Fottler". Archived from the original on February 26, 2005.
  10. ^ Stevens p 345
  11. ^ Newman, p.64-65
  12. ^ The New England magazine, Volume 24. p.346. New England Magazine Co., 1901 |url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101064988155
  13. ^ Stevens p 347
  14. ^ "Boston Garden Foot Bridge - 1867 - Boston, MA - Bridge Date Stones and Plaques on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1883.
  16. ^ Annear, Steve (April 9, 2021). "Boston Public Garden used to have baby alligators — yes, alligators — and people fed them rodents". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  17. ^ Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1920.
  18. ^ Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1982.
  19. ^ "ARREST 14 ON PUBLIC GARDEN: Men Charged With Lying or Walking on Grass". The Boston Daily Globe. July 14, 1924. ProQuest 497825402.
  20. ^ Sterritt, Francis (June 19, 1966). "Gardens No-Sitting Grass". The Boston Globe. ProQuest 365964197.
  21. ^ Posted Rules of the Public Garden. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindsayhancock/6936393544 Accessed March 19, 2017.
  22. ^ "Hunter Takes Boston Public Gardens into 21st Century". Hunter Industries. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  23. ^ Most, Doug (2014). The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America's First Subway. St. Martin's Press. pp. 233–234. ISBN 978-1-250-06135-5.
  24. ^ backyardroadtrips.com, "I'm in love with Massachusetts, in the footsteps of Jonathan Richman" [1]
  25. ^ Boston Landmarks Commission Study report on the Public Garden, 1975. p12
  26. ^ a b Davenport, Arthur (September 27, 1964). "Boston's Uncommon Park". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  27. ^ Slack, Donovan (August 12, 2005). "Thou art no Romeo". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  28. ^ "As another spring arrives, another season for the Swan Boats nears". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  29. ^ Reports of the Proceedings of City Council of Boston; 1879.
  30. ^ Reports of the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston; 1882.
  31. ^ Reports on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston; 1992
  32. ^ City of Boston. Public Garden. Notable trees Archived 2011-10-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-10-16
  33. ^ Bacon, Edwin (1883). King's Dictionary of Boston. Boston: Moses King. p. 495.
  34. ^ Boston Art Commission: Small Child Fountain[usurped]
  35. ^ "Boston Public Garden | Boston Sights". Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
  36. ^ "Sculpture & Memorials | Friends of the Public Garden". friendsofthepublicgarden.org. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  37. ^ Bacon p 169
  38. ^ "Restoration of the George Robert White Memorial Fountain in the Public Garden | Friends of the Public Garden". friendsofthepublicgarden.org. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  39. ^ Boston Art Commission: Triton Babies Fountain[usurped]
  40. ^ Boston Art Commission: Boy and Bird Fountain[usurped]
  41. ^ Boston Art Commission: Bagheera Fountain[usurped]
  42. ^ Report of the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1913
  43. ^ Report on the Proceedings of the City Council of Boston, 1912.
  44. ^ "Staging Removed from the Channing Statue in the Public Garden". Boston Daily Globe. June 15, 1903. ProQuest 499928520.
  45. ^ Boston Landmarks Commission Study report on the Public Garden, 1975. p13
  46. ^ Boston Landmarks Commission Study Report on the Public Garden, 1975. p18
  47. ^ "Japanese Lantern » Public Art Boston". www.publicartboston.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  48. ^ "PUBLIC GARDEN LIGHTHOUSE.: A Japanese Gift to City of Boston". Boston Daily Globe. February 4, 1906. ProQuest 500588707.
  49. ^ a b Mohl, Bruce (August 13, 2006). "Can a park have too much money?". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  50. ^ Friends of the Public Garden. Beacon Hill Garden Club to Donate $55,000 to the Friends Archived 2011-08-16 at the Wayback Machine. Nov. 17, 2010

Bibliography

  • Stevens, Charles W. (1901). "Boston Public Garden". New England Magazine. Boston: Warren F Kellogg. pp. 343–356.

Further reading

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42°21′15″N 71°4′12″W / 42.35417°N 71.07000°W / 42.35417; -71.07000