Boston Common: Famous Guests & Visitors

There is a story that chronicles a two hour visit to the Common by Ralph Waldo Emerson and alt Whitman. It is said that the first was trying to convince the second to tone down or do without some sections of his work Leaves of Grass, but to no avail.[1]

George Whitefield evangelist his eloquence inspired a young Benjamin Franklin.

In 1834 President Andrew Jackson and Vice-President Martin Van Buren reviewed the troops of the Massachusetts Militia.[2]

Martin Luther King Jr. came to Boston in April 23, 1965 and addresses thousands on the Common.[3]

Pope John Paul II's first Mass in the United States was celebrated October 1, 1979 on the Boston Common.

[1] Booth, Robert and Jack Frost. Boston's Freedom Trail: A Souvenir Guide. Globe Pequot Press: Guilford, Connecticut, 2006, page 5.

[2] Schoefield, William G. Freedom by the Bay: The Boston Freedom Trail. Page 23.

[3] http://articles.boston.com/2012-01-16/metro/30629228_1_phd-at-boston-university-martin-luther-king-school-committee

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The Boston Common: Parkman Plaza

As the stone located in front of the Visitor Information Center reads, Parkman Plaza was dedicated to a man named George F. Parkman who was born in 1823 and died September 16, 1908. But who was George F. Parkman? George Francis Parkman, a member of the Boston Brahmins, never married. He didn't have any children and his only sister, also childless, died in 1885. Therefore, upon his death, George F. Parkman left nearly all of his estate to the City of Boston, making it one of the largest bequests ever made to the city, a $5 million fund for the maintenance and improvement of the Boston Common and other public parks. Even though he was a Brahmin and lived a comfortable life, George Francis was a recluse and rarely left the family home at 33 Beacon Street, one of the streets surrounding the Common. George’s mother and sister also lived in reclusion after the horrible death of their father, George Parkman Sr., who was gruesomely killed and...

Boston Common: History

Officially, The Freedom Trail begins at the Visitor Information Center in front of Parkman Plaza. Once we start our walk from the Visitor Center, we can choose to follow the red trail directly to the State House, the second official landmark of The Freedom Trail , or we can walk around the Boston Common and see that it has lots to offer. The Boston Common, by virtue of its long history, is an “outdoor stage upon which each generation has enacted the passing dramas of civic life. Upon this stage, each century provides its particular scenes…” [1] When John Winthrop bought the fifty acres of land from Blaxton, he bought shrub land, a lightly wooded area with probably only a few trees of notable size with the legendary Great Elm among them. On one side, the original sea line, which the course of Charles Street roughly follows, and the Back Bay marshes on the other. Early descriptions of the Common give the account of four separate hills and three pon...

Boston Common: Sculptures, monuments, and other landmarks

Beacon Street Mall Out of the original five malls that enhanced the beauty of the Common, the Beacon Street Mall is the best preserved. It still has the original fence and flanking rows of trees, reminiscent of the nineteenth-century Common. Blaxton’s Memorial Tablet Created in 1913 by R. Clipson Stugis . The tablet, with words taken from a 1684 speech about the founding of the Common in 1634. The testimony was given by four elderly men who were among the first Boston inhabitants. “For generations, this testimony has been cited as evidence that the lawful owners of the Common are the people of Boston.” [1] Boston Massacre Memorial A bronze figure that represents Revolution breaking the chains of Tyranny. Designed by Robert Kraus in 1888, the bas relief depicts the events, which occurred in front of the Old State House on March 5, 1770. Brewer Fountain Built in 1868 by Paul Liénard with statues by Mathurin Moreau . The fountain debuted at ...

Boston: Sites & History

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