Boston Public Garden

Home of Make Way for Ducklings - and the Swan Boats

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Touring Boston?  The Public Garden, a tranquil park sandwiched between Back Bay and Boston Common, is a "must visit" site.   (Sports fans feel the same way about "The Garden," home to the Celtics and Bruins - but that's a completely different place!)

The Public Garden - occasionally called the "Boston Public Garden" - is where you can go for a relaxing ride on the historic Swan Boats, visit the famous "Make Way for Ducklings" statue, and enjoy gorgeous flowers and trees in America's oldest botanical park. 

It's also the site of the world's smallest suspension bridge, a lagoon that's home to real swans as well as ducks who inhabit Mrs. Mallard's Island, and numerous paths and benches where you can walk and relax through the year.

Once you visit, you'll discover why the Public Garden is considered the "jewel" of Boston's Emerald Necklace, Frederick Law Olmsted's series of connecting parks that encircle the city.

From smelly Boston mudflats to the Public Garden

When the first European settlers arrived in the Shawmut Peninsula, now Boston, in the 1600s, what is now the Public Garden was underwater most of the time, part of a large area of tidal salt marshes. 

The western edge of Boston Common along what is now Charles Street marked the end of dry land.  Watery marshland called "Round Marsh" covered the area where you'll now find the Public Garden along with much of the Back Bay and Fenway neighborhoods.  Ben Franklin used to fish along the edge of Round Marsh when he was a boy. 

Round Marsh - where Boston's Public Garden is located today - is also where 700 British troops set off in boats and barges toward Lexington and Concord after dark on April 18, 1775, the day before the start of the American Revolution. 

The British Regulars, as they were called, launched their boats from a bit of higher, dryer land called "Fox Hill" - near the Charles Street Entrance Gate.  Two lanterns - "two if by sea" - hung in the steeple of Old North Church later that night to alert the Colonists about their route as Paul Revere began his midnight ride.

By 1821, industrial development along the edges of this area prompted a businessman to build a long dam between the Charles River and the Back Bay marshland in order to harness water power for mills and rope factories. 

Along the top of the dam, with water lapping along both sides, ran narrow Beacon Street, linking Beacon Hill with Brookline to the west.  The dam turned the former salt marsh into an increasingly smelly swamp.  And then it became a dumping ground.  When west winds blew, the stench wafting across the city became unbearable.

Spurred by public outrage about the health hazards, Boston's City Council decided in 1824 to fill the swamp and maintain the 24 acres as public land. 

Still, not much happened, aside from occasional filling, until a group of 17 horticultural enthusiasts led by a wealthy iron manufacturer named Horace Gray leased the land, finished filling it, and turned it into the nation's first public botanical garden, complete with a glass conservatory for plants and an aviary filled with 80 species of birds. 

Hugely successful, the popular garden became Boston's center of horticultural activity.  In 1840, Gray paid $1,500 to import tulips to the U.S. for the first time, and displayed them here.  Daniel Webster later won first prize for his vegetables in an exhibition sponsored by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded in 1829.  In the garden, roses, camellias, and Boston's first poinsettia flourished. 

Sadly, by 1847, the conservatory had burned to the ground and Gray's money was gone; the wheel of fortune had turned.  The city took back the property with the intent of selling it to developers in order to increase the tax revenue stream.  Fortunately, however, citizens protested, the city hesitated, and New York began developing Central Park.  Not to be outdone, Boston held a design competition and awarded the prize - $100 plus permission to design a new Public Garden - to architect George Meacham in 1859.

What will you see when you visit Boston's Public Garden 

As its name implies, the Public Garden is, first and foremost, a garden.  The Victorian-style, somewhat formal garden that you see today is almost exactly as when it opened to the public in 1861. It's one of Boston's most important botanical gardens.

At the Public Garden's heart is the  Lagoon, a large but shallow artificial pond that covers approximately 4 acres.  Meacham based it on the design of the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park. 

Toward the north end of the Lagoon is a small island - once a peninsula but severed from land in 1880 after city officials learned that it was a popular site for amorous meetings.  This is the island where Mrs. Mallard brought her 8 offspring after raising them along the bank of the nearby Charles River.

You'll also see a pair of swans in the lagoon throughout much of the year.  The first pair arrived in 1868, and except for a period between the 1960s and 1991, a resident pair has delighted Public Garden visitors ever since.

The lagoon is only 3-4 feet deep, and due to Boston's rather frigid winter climate, most of the water is drained from it every fall and refilled in the spring.  Snow and ice partially refill it during most winters.  Although it used to be used for ice skating, that activity has now moved to Boston Common's Frog Pond.

Spanning the lagoon at its narrowest point is a small suspension bridge - the world's smallest - designed by William G. Preston and built in 1867.  Technically, it's no longer a "real" suspension bridge due to the addition of reinforcements underneath that make the cables merely decorative.  However, it's one of the most charming spots in the Public Garden.  You'll see lots of people love walking across it - or standing in the middle and enjoying the views that make this one of the most popular parks in Boston - year-round. 

Without a doubt, the beautiful plantings in the Public Garden are huge attractions to many people.  The 24 acres contain over 750 shrubs and trees, including 125 different tree varieties, and approximately 80 species of plants and flowers.  Fifty five French-style flower beds and four rose beds are planted twice a year - spring and summer - by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, which maintains the Public Garden. 

You'll see about 20 graceful weeping willow trees along the edges of the Lagoon.  In late February - early March, they turn a pale chartreuse that is the first signal that spring will arrive in another month or so. 

In autumn, their golden branches are part of the gorgeous colors that make Boston's Public Garden one of the best places to see fall foliage in the city.

Other trees include fairly common species such as purple beeches, maples, red oaks, and lindens as well as much rarer varieties.  These rarer trees include a huge Japanese pagoda near the Beacon and Arlington Street corner, an equally huge metasequoia close to the Charles Street entrance near Beacon Street, and a tropical-looking ginkgo by the Ether monument near the Arlington Street and Beacon Street corner.  Star magnolias, lilacs, and rhododendrons add to the Public Garden's beauty. 

Famous statues in Boston's Public Garden

Like most parks in Boston, the Public Garden is also full of statues.  Although many of them have compelling stories, three are of particular interest to many visitors.

The "Make Way for Ducklings" statue, near Charles and Beacon Streets, is by far the most popular with 2 to 5 year olds. 

Inspired by Robert McCluskey's book about Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and their adventures while finding a safe place to hatch and raise their offspring in and around the Public Garden, the sculpture depicts Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings. Boston-area sculptor Nancy Schön designed the bronze ducks.

The Ether Monument, near Arlington Street, commemorates the first successful use of ether as an anesthetic in Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital in 1846. The statue is powerful and moving because it makes us think about what surgery, even something as minor as pulling a tooth or setting a broken arm, must have been like without anesthesia.

Up until this point, people subjected to surgery were as likely to die from excruciating pain as from complications resulting from the surgery.  The statue is interesting because it's indirect.  Instead of showing the doctor who successfully used ether for the first time (which could be tricky, due to controversy about who should get the credit), the statue depicts a Good Samaritan comforting a child. 

From the Ether Monument as well as many other places in Boston's Public Garden, you can easily see the large George Washington statue showing the country's most famous general and first President on a horse silhouetted against the sky.  Sculpted by Thomas Ball in 1869, the George Washington statue is considered one of the best equestrian statues in the United States.  It's also one of the most photographed statues in the Public Garden. 

What can you do in the Public Garden?

The most popular activity in Boston's Public Garden is strolling down the paths, across the bridge, and across the grassy (or icy, depending on the season) slopes.  You can admire the trees, the flowers, the lagoon, or in winter, the outline of the trees and shrubs.

You'll see lots of people walking around, sometimes with canine companions, throughout the year.   Walking across the Public Garden (and Boston Common) is also the most picturesque route from Back Bay to Downtown. 

You can also feed the ducks on the lagoon, or just sit and enjoy the scenery.

During warm months, you can go for a ride on the popular Swan Boats, which have been delighting passengers with 15 minute journeys around the Lagoon since 1877.

This is also one of several Boston gardens and parks where you can get married - so if you're wondering how to plan an inexpensive Boston wedding, the Public Garden is a super spot to consider.  You can find details on the Boston Parks and Recreation Department's website.

You do need to have a back-up plan (or lots of umbrellas) in case of rain.  But with the money that you save, you can walk over to a Chinatown or Back Bay restaurant and treat your guests to a nice dinner - and then save any left-over money toward a down-payment on a Boston condo. 

The best time to visit Boston's Public Garden

In spring, the Public Garden is one of the most beautiful spots in the city as trees begin to bloom.  Slightly later, the rhododendrons put on quite a show.

In summer, the lush plantings of flowers are spectacular.  One of the most interesting, near the Charles Street Gate, features the palms that were so popular with Public Garden visitors during the Victorian period in the 1800s. 

During autumn, foliage covers the spectrum from gold to deepest red and maroon.  Reflections in the Lagoon magnify the effect, with breath-taking results.

Winter brings pleasures of its own.  Shapes of tree branches and bushes that you may not notice during other times of the year double as sculpture against the snow.

So which is the "best" season?  I can't answer that - I love the Public Garden in every season.  So you'll have to decide for yourself!

What else is close to the Boston Public Garden?

Because of the Public Garden's central location, you can easily walk over to Boston Common, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Bay Village, Theatre District, or Downtown.  The South End is also close.

Directly opposite the Arlington Street gate, you'll also find another of Boston's special Emerald Necklace parks, the beautiful Commonwealth Avenue Mall.  Full of trees and statues, and lined with some of the city's most elaborate Victorian mansions, the Mall is also a popular place for walking.  It's also conveniently close to fabulous Newbury Street shopping and lots of excellent Back Bay restaurants.

What Boston hotels overlook the Public Garden?

If you've fallen in love with this beautiful park, you may want to consider a hotel near the Public Garden for your next Boston visit.

Two of the most splendid Boston hotels, the Four Seasons and Taj Boston, directly overlook the park and offer magnificent views. 

Taj Boston, located on in Back Bay on Arlington Street, is directly across from the Arlington Street Gate and also close to Commonwealth Mall. 

The Four Seasons, on Boylston Street in the Park Square area of Downtown, offers sweeping views of both the Public Garden and Boston Common.

Only 200 yards away is the magnificent Park Plaza Hotel Boston, offering excellent views upper floors.  The Park Plaza's close connection with the Public Garden can be seen in its logo, which features a swan. 

But the Park Plaza has another special relationship with this beautiful garden.  In 1991, after the Public Garden had been without swans for 20+ years, Mr. and Mrs. Irving Saunders, the Park Plaza's owners at that time (the Saunders family now partners with Starwood Hotels and Resorts), arranged for the return of the swans.  Maybe some day the Public Garden will include a statue that commemorates this happy moment.

Details and directions to Boston's Public Garden

Location:  Downtown Boston, just to the west of Boston Common, and bordered on its other sides by Beacon Street, Arlington Street, and Boylston Street.  Charles Street runs between Boston Common and the Public Garden
Nearest T station:  Green Line/Arlington
Open:   Daily
Cost:  Free
Nearest parking:  Boston Common Garage (underground), entrance on Charles Street