Boston - Public Garden: Swan Boat and Swan's Nest
The Swan Boats that glide through the lagoon of the Boston Public Garden date back to 1877, when Robert Paget introduced rides on foot-peddled paddle wheel catamaran. The original fleet was comprised of single-seaters that could carry eight. Paget died just a year later, but his wife Julia preserved the family business through the early 1900's, when her son John took over in 1914, and his son, Paul, took over in 1969. Today's fleet consists of six boats, the oldest of which was built by John in 1918, with five or six benches per boat, carrying up to 20 passengers.
The Boston Public Garden, established in 1837, was the first public botanical garden in the United States. The twenty-four acre 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.
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.
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 statue commemorating the first use of ether as an anesthetic.
National Register #87000761 (1987)
Boston - Public Garden: Swan Boat and Swan's Nest
The Swan Boats that glide through the lagoon of the Boston Public Garden date back to 1877, when Robert Paget introduced rides on foot-peddled paddle wheel catamaran. The original fleet was comprised of single-seaters that could carry eight. Paget died just a year later, but his wife Julia preserved the family business through the early 1900's, when her son John took over in 1914, and his son, Paul, took over in 1969. Today's fleet consists of six boats, the oldest of which was built by John in 1918, with five or six benches per boat, carrying up to 20 passengers.
The Boston Public Garden, established in 1837, was the first public botanical garden in the United States. The twenty-four acre 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.
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.
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 statue commemorating the first use of ether as an anesthetic.
National Register #87000761 (1987)