Boston Public Garden

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The Boston Public Garden is one portion of a large park located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston Common is the other portion.

1 History
2 Description
3 Transportation
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 References and external links

[edit] History

The Public Garden was established in 1837 and was the first public botanical garden in the United States. The twenty-four acre (97,000 m²) landscape, which was once a salt marsh, was designed by George V. Meacham. In 1859, an act by the Massachusetts General Court preserved the Public Garden as an open space.

[edit] Description

Together with the Boston Common, these two 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 lake and a large series of formal plantings that are maintained by the city and others and vary from season to season.

During the warmer seasons, the four acre (16,000 m²) pond is usually the home of one or more swans and is always the site of the Swan Boats, a famous Boston tourist attraction. For a small fee, tourists can sit on a boat ornamented with a splendid white swan at the rear. The boat is then pedaled around the lake by a young (and strong) tour guide sitting within the swan.

Equestrian statue of George Washington.

The Public Garden is roughly 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.

Several statues are located throughout the Public Garden. Located at the Arlington Street gate is the equestrian statue of George Washington, which faces Commonwealth Avenue. A set of bronze statues 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. There is also a statute commemorating the first use of ether as an anesthetic.

[edit] Transportation

The Public Garden is easily accessible from the MBTA Green Line's Arlington Station. Other nearby subway stops include the Green Line's Boylston Station and the Red Line's Park Street Station. Public parking is located underneath Charles Street.

[edit] Gallery

Sign	1890 Map of the Boston Public Garden and Common	Looking east toward Boston's Financial District.	Swan boats
Bridge adjoining sides of Boston Public Garden over the pond	Make Way for Ducklings