By Katie Koenig
The Public Garden was established in 1839, making it the earliest public garden in U.S. history. In 1977, a Landmarks Commission report suggested it be designated as a historic landmark, which later was accepted. Although it sits next to the Boston Common, the lands were purchased much later and decorated lavishly, with plentiful statues, fountains, and the pond itself centered in the garden, all surrounded by a Victorian cast-iron fence.
When Boston began filling in the tidal marshes that sat in the direction of present-day Back Bay, the city purchased some of this newly created land, dedicating it for public use. Over the course of about forty years during the middle of the nineteenth century, various horticulturists designed, terraformed, and planted in the park until it greatly resembled what it looks like today.
One of these horticulturists, Horace Gray, headed the planning and planting in the first decade of construction, from 1839 to 1847, but the project stalled when Gray lost his fortune and could no longer work on the park. He and his group had initially leased the land to create the botanical garden, which added to contested rights of ownership between the cities of Boston and Roxbury, the state, and the Boston Water-Power Company. Boston only gained clear legal title to the park a while after the project stalled, in 1856.
Around this time, New York was developing its Central Park, inspiring many other cities to follow along. Boston citizens were particularly interested in establishing more green spaces throughout the city. As a result, in 1859, the city passed an act that mandated the Public Garden be exclusively used as a public botanical garden. That same year, the city appointed a special committee to consider potential park uses, beyond just botanics. Their report suggested creating small but frequent parklands, since Boston didn’t have the same size to contest with other cities’ massive parks, for all that they inspired many cities to create their own large park systems.
Later, this desire for greater parklands in Boston led to Frederick Law Olmsted’s hiring and the design of the Emerald Necklace, which includes the Public Garden and Boston Common at one end of its chain.
According to the Landmarks Commission, like other parks throughout Boston, the start of the twentieth century introduced new installations, in this case more memorials and statues, but in the latter half of the century the city focused on major restorative work. They improved the condition of the edging of the pond, lighting, replacing benches, and restoring lawn areas, in addition to replacing the fencing.
For a more detailed account of Boston’s Back Bay development, check out History of Boston’s Green Spaces 1: The Esplanade. The second post in this series, Franklin Park, explains more about the creation of the Emerald Necklace.
The Public Garden was established in 1839, making it the earliest public garden in U.S. history. In 1977, a Landmarks Commission report suggested it be designated as a historic landmark, which later was accepted. Although it sits next to the Boston Common, the lands were purchased much later and decorated lavishly, with plentiful statues, fountains, and the pond itself centered in the garden, all surrounded by a Victorian cast-iron fence.
When Boston began filling in the tidal marshes that sat in the direction of present-day Back Bay, the city purchased some of this newly created land, dedicating it for public use. Over the course of about forty years during the middle of the nineteenth century, various horticulturists designed, terraformed, and planted in the park until it greatly resembled what it looks like today.
One of these horticulturists, Horace Gray, headed the planning and planting in the first decade of construction, from 1839 to 1847, but the project stalled when Gray lost his fortune and could no longer work on the park. He and his group had initially leased the land to create the botanical garden, which added to contested rights of ownership between the cities of Boston and Roxbury, the state, and the Boston Water-Power Company. Boston only gained clear legal title to the park a while after the project stalled, in 1856.
Around this time, New York was developing its Central Park, inspiring many other cities to follow along. Boston citizens were particularly interested in establishing more green spaces throughout the city. As a result, in 1859, the city passed an act that mandated the Public Garden be exclusively used as a public botanical garden. That same year, the city appointed a special committee to consider potential park uses, beyond just botanics. Their report suggested creating small but frequent parklands, since Boston didn’t have the same size to contest with other cities’ massive parks, for all that they inspired many cities to create their own large park systems.
Later, this desire for greater parklands in Boston led to Frederick Law Olmsted’s hiring and the design of the Emerald Necklace, which includes the Public Garden and Boston Common at one end of its chain.
According to the Landmarks Commission, like other parks throughout Boston, the start of the twentieth century introduced new installations, in this case more memorials and statues, but in the latter half of the century the city focused on major restorative work. They improved the condition of the edging of the pond, lighting, replacing benches, and restoring lawn areas, in addition to replacing the fencing.
For a more detailed account of Boston’s Back Bay development, check out History of Boston’s Green Spaces 1: The Esplanade. The second post in this series, Franklin Park, explains more about the creation of the Emerald Necklace.