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36-482: 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

72-932: A few projects from his home in Newton in the following years. Though most of Meacham's work was architectural, he did his best known work in the capacity of landscape architect. In 1859 his design was adopted for the reconstruction of the Public Garden , his plan for which has remained largely intact. He was also responsible, in 1865, for an extension to the Center Cemetery of Shirley , and for Farlow Park in Newton in 1882. In 1859 Meacham married Mary J. Warren of New Boston, New Hampshire . In 1870 they moved from Watertown to Newton. They had two children together, who both died in their youth. Mary J. Meacham died in 1877. Meacham remarried in 1881, to Ellen Louisa Frost, who survived him. Meacham died on December 4, 1917. At

108-571: A location in Boston is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . George F. Meacham George F. Meacham was born in 1831 in Watertown, Massachusetts to Giles A. and Jane A. Meacham. In 1849, after attending schools in Newton , Waltham and Cambridge , he entered Harvard College . He graduated in 1853. After college he trained and worked as a civil engineer, at one point working on

144-611: 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. While most of the land of the present-day garden had been filled in by

180-746: Is represented in the Boston City Council by District 2 's Ed Flynn . Downtown is bound by the Back Bay , North End , Beacon Hill , and the South End areas. It includes the Government Center and the Financial District . The area that is now Downtown Boston constituted much of the town/city proper prior to the city's dramatic expansion in the 1860s and 1870s. The Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroyed much of

216-631: Is the Swan Boats , which began operating in 1877. 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. Being no more than three feet deep at its deepest point,

252-400: Is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; city, county, state and federal government facilities; and many of Boston's tourist attractions. Similar to other central business districts in the U.S., Downtown has recently undergone a transformation that included the construction of new condos and lofts, renovation of historic buildings, and arrival of new residents and businesses. It

288-474: The Beacon Hill Garden Club . Notes Bibliography Further reading 42°21′15″N 71°4′12″W  /  42.35417°N 71.07000°W  / 42.35417; -71.07000 Downtown Boston Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston , Massachusetts, United States. Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown

324-586: 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,

360-619: The Friends of the Public Garden . 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. Today, sitting on the grass is permitted except for specific sections of

396-726: The Common. 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. The song Twilight in Boston by Jonathan Richman mentions the Garden (track in the album I, Jonathan ). Together with

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432-506: The Common. 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. 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

468-591: 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 . During the warmer seasons, the 4 acres (16,000 m) pond is the home of a great many ducks, as well as of one or more swans . A popular tourist attraction

504-709: The Public Garden: The park is maintained by the City of Boston, which in 2005 spent $ 1.2 million to keep up its three parks. 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. Volunteers meet regularly to prune and maintain bushes. Financial support also comes from private sources such as

540-544: The Water Works of Jersey City, New Jersey . In 1855 he entered the office of an unnamed architect in Boston. By 1857 he was associated with architect Shepard S. Woodcock , and by 1858 they had formed a partnership. Meacham established an independent firm in Boston in 1864. Meacham was appointed architect of Boston's new Masonic Temple in 1866, after the health of the original architect, Merrill G. Wheelock , failed. Construction had begun in 1865, and Meacham completed

576-495: The aesthetics of the place. 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. A flagpole stands today on

612-539: The amount of soil necessary (approximately 9,000 cu yd (6,900 m), 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

648-482: 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

684-474: The city forester, decided to sever the connection with the land. The 24 acres (97,000 m) 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

720-578: The city operates at Franklin Park for the purpose. 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: Several statues are located throughout

756-485: The detailed plan for the Garden to the Committee on the Common and Public Squares and received approval. 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,

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792-749: The downtown area at the Downtown Crossing , Park Street , Government Center , and State stations. South Station is a transportation hub with subway, commuter rail, intercity bus, and Amtrak service. Boston Public Schools operates area district public schools. Boston Renaissance Charter Public School was formerly located in a building in Park Square . In 2010 it moved to its current location in Hyde Park . 42°21′00″N 71°04′00″W  /  42.35000°N 71.06667°W  / 42.35000; -71.06667 This article about

828-405: 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. 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

864-554: The exterior of the building to Wheelock's design and was responsible for the design of the interior. The building was dedicated in 1867. It has been demolished. In 1867 a set of plans for an apartment house designed by Meacham was published in an overview of charity work in France, though it does not indicate whether it was intended to be built in France or Boston, where the book was printed. Meacham continued in Boston until 1891, when he retired from active practice. He continued to work on

900-492: 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. 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

936-471: 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. The next year, a proposal to turn

972-538: 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 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." The corporation was chartered with creating what

1008-412: The lawn where a posted sign forbids access. 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. Originally, the Charles Street side of the Public Garden (along with the adjacent portions of Boston Common)

1044-399: 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

1080-928: The neighborhood, especially between Summer, Washington, and Milk Streets. In the 1950s the Central Artery highway began operating, until the Big Dig (1982–2007) relocated it underground. In the 1960s and 1970s the enormous new Government Center complex replaced Scollay Square . Landmarks in Downtown Boston include the Greenway , Custom House Tower , City Hall , Faneuil Hall , Quincy Market , Old State House , Old South Meeting House , Massachusetts State House , Park Street Church , Boston Common , and Boston Public Garden . Educational institutions located downtown include Emerson College and Suffolk University . The four MBTA subway lines converge in

1116-507: 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; 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

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1152-536: 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

1188-608: 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. 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. In October 1859, Alderman Crane submitted

1224-436: The western entrance to the park facing Commonwealth Avenue . The signature suspension bridge over the middle of the pond was erected in 1867. 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

1260-456: Was the first public botanical garden in America. 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. The town of Boston granted ropemakers use of the land on July 30, 1794, after a fire had destroyed

1296-405: 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

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