Page 50 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Boston

48  BOST ON AREA B Y AREA

7 Boston Common and Public Garden

Acquired by Boston in 1634 from first settler William
Blackstone, the 48-acre (19-ha) Boston Common served
for two centuries as common pasture, military drill ground,
and gallows site. British troops camped here during the
1775–76 military occupation. As Boston grew in the 19th
century, the Boston Common became a center for open-
air civic activity and remains so to this day. By contrast,
the 24-acre (10-ha) Public Garden is more formal. When
the Charles River mudflats were first filled in the 1830s, a
succession of landscape plans were plotted for the Public The Public Garden, a popular green space
Garden before the city chose the English-style garden in the heart of the city
scheme of George F. Meacham in 1859. The lagoon
was added to the garden two years later.

C H
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. George
Washington Statue
Cast by Thomas Ball from
bronze, with a solid
granite base, this is one
the finest memorial
statues in Boston. It was
dedicated in 1869.

0 metres 100
Lagoon Bridge
This miniature, ornamental bridge over the Public 0 yards 100
Garden lagoon was designed by William G. Preston in
1869 in a moment of whimsy. The lagoon it “spans”
was constructed in 1861.

048-049_EW_Boston.indd 48 09/01/17 12:14 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm