Boston Common

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The Back Bay and Boston Common in winter 2007, viewed from the Prudential Tower.

1890 Map of Boston Common and the adjacent Public Garden

View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common, October 25th 1848

Boston Common Engraving

For the television series, see Boston Common (TV series)

Boston Common is a well-known public park in Boston, Massachusetts and the oldest city park in the United States, dating as far back as 1634. It is 50 acres (202,000 m²) in size. The Common is bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street. A visitors' center for all of Boston is on the Tremont Street side of the park.

Its purpose has changed over the years. Originally it was owned by William Blaxton (often given the modernized spelling "Blackstone") until it was bought from him by the city. It was used as a camp by the British before the Revolutionary War, and was where they left from for the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Up until 1830, it was used for cattle grazing. It was also used for public hangings up until 1817, most of which were from a large oak which was replaced with gallows in 1769. Mary Dyer was hanged there in 1660.

Today it serves as a public park for all to use for formal or informal gatherings, or just to enjoy the park and its surroundings. Events such as concerts, protests, softball games, and ice skating (on Frog Pond) often take place in the park. Famous individuals, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope John Paul II, have also made speeches at the Common. Judy Garland gave her largest concert ever (100,000+) on August 31, 1967 on the Common.

The Central Burying Ground is found on the Boylston Street side of Boston Common. There one can find the burial sites of the artist Gilbert Stuart and the composer William Billings.

On October 21, 2006, the Common became the site of a new world record, when 30,128 Jack-o'-lanterns were lit simultaneously around the park. The previous record, held by Keene, New Hampshire since 2003, was 28,952.^[1]

1 Notable features of the Common
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Notable features of the Common

The Massachusetts State House stands across Beacon Street from the north edge of the Common.
The Common forms the south foot of Beacon Hill.
The monument to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry stands at Beacon and Park Streets, the northeast corner of the Common.
The Boston Public Garden lies to the west of the Common, across Charles Street, and was originally considered an extension of the Common.
Frog Pond, a public ice-skating rink in winter months.
Park Street Station, the first subway station in America, stands at the northeast corner of the park.
Likewise, Boylston Station at the southeast corner is America's second subway station.
Boston Common is the south end of Boston's Freedom Trail.
Parkman Bandstand, in the east part of the park, is commonly used in musical and theatrical productions in the park.
The softball fields lie in the southwest corner of the Common.
A grassy area forms the west part of the park, and is most commonly used for the park's largest events. A parking garage underlies this part of the Common. A granite slab there commemorates Pope John Paul II's October 1979 visit to Boston.
The Province of Nova Scotia has donated the annual Christmas tree for the Common as an enduring thank-you for the relief efforts of the Boston Red Cross and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee following the Halifax Explosion of 1917.
The Masonic Grand Lodge of Massachusetts headquarters sits at the southern end of the Common, at the intersection of Boylston and Tremont Streets.
Across from the southeastern corner of the Common, along Boylston and Tremont Streets, lies the campus of Emerson College.
In 1986, two prehistoric sites were discovered on the Common indicating Native American presence in the area as far back as 8,500 years ago.