The Emerald Necklace ~ A Mother Earth Day Walk in the City of Boston

"We want a ground to which people may easily go when
the day's work is done,and where they may stroll for
an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the
bustle and jar of the streets where they shall, in effect,
find the city put far away from them..."

~Frederick Law Olmstead, 1870~

Late Tuesday night I got a phone call from my sister Fran.  "So, Bob what are you doing tomorrow.  I was thinking you should ride up to the city.  Some of my art is being showcased at the Thayer Gallery and I thought you might like to see it."  I did want to see the exhibit but I also had a bee in my bonnet.  Wednesday was Earth Day 2009 and I wanted to explore "The Emerald Necklace", a series of parklands surrounding the city of Boston.  Over the years I have visited Franklin Park and of course Boston Gardens and the Commons, but I had never explored the rest of the "necklace".

History of the Emerald Necklace

In 1875, the Boston City Council passed a Park Act. The Boston Park Commissioners were finally able to propose a park system where people could "in effect, find the city put far away from them."¹ The commissioners, empowered by the Park Act, approached Frederick Law Olmsted in June of 1878 to be their professional advisor for the proposed park system. Olmsted (1822 -1903) is thought of as the "Father of Landscape Architecture" in the United States since he was the first person in this country to make a profession out of designing parks and other landscapes.  Olmstead's most famous work is Central Park (1857-1863) in New York City. In fact, the success of his design in Central Park was a model for cities such as Boston, who saw the positive influence rural parks had on city dwellers.

Rather then one large park in a central location, Olmstead envisioned a chain of parks surrounding Boston.  He called this chain the "Green Ribbon".  Over the years, however, it has become known as 'the Emerald Necklace".  Today, the Emerald Necklace remains a model in urban landscape design. Other cities and towns have used Boston's model to design their own greenways. The concept of a greenway has also spread to rural areas, as a method of conserving wilderness areas.

So, early yesterday morn, I drove to Fran's home in Braintree and we went out to the Diner and had a large breakfast to fortify ourselves for "a walking day".  Though the sun was shining, the weather report said there was a chance of showers in the late afternoon.  Packing rain gear, umbrellas and water we rode over to Franklin Park, the last "jewel" in the necklace.

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Franklin Park, we meandered through the Forest Hills Cemetery.  Though not officially a part of the necklace, the cemetery provides the link between Franklin Park and the Arnold Arboretum.  The 275 acre cemetery was designed in 1848 and has a distinctive Victorian landscape design that features meandering paths, scenic vistas and a beautiful lake.  Throughout the cemetery are beautiful sculptures.  Many prominent historic and cultural figures are buried here, including inventors, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, authors, artists, and social activists.We were excited to find the graves of the poets E.E. Cummings and Anne Sexton.  Eugene O'Neil, the playwright, is also buried here as well as William Dawes, the colonial minuteman, that rode with Paul Revere, to sound the alarm "that the British are coming".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next,  we headed over to the Arnold Arboretum.

"The Arboretum is a living museum dedicated to the study and appreciation of woody plants. Upon its 265 acres grow 15,000 trees, shrubs and vines, each of which is scientifically documented and available for teaching or research.

The Arboretum's story begins with two interesting partnerships. First Harvard University curates the collections and maintains the landscape, while the city, which owns the land and has leased it to the school for 1,000 years, maintains the infrastructure. The other partnership is that of Frederick Law Olmsted and Charles Sprague Sargent.

In their collaboration, Sargent was the scientist who collected and sited thousands of specimens by genus (or family). Olmsted was the designer who laid out the road system and overall planting scheme to ensure a natural look in harmony with the rest of the Necklace." (from Mass. Gov. site)

I was a wee bit disappointed with the Arboretum.  Because we have had such a cold, rainy spring, very few of the trees and shrubs were flowering.  I think we need to come back in a couple of weeks.  I did manage to take a few images....but I really don't think these images do the park justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving the Arboretum, we walked down the busy Arborway to Jamaica Pond and then took the hill trail around Ward's Pond in Olmsted Park.

 

 

 

 

 

Hanging from a tree, we spotted a homemade Tibetan prayer flag and thought how fitting someone constructed it to honor Frederick Law Olmsted's vision of providing "greenspace" for the people of Boston.

It was now late afternoon, rain was beginning to fall and the wind was picking up.  Rather then go on to the Fens, the next jewel in the necklace, Fran and I called it a day and headed back to the car.  By the time we reached the car, we were wet, tired and extremely hungry.  On the way home, we stopped at a small restaurant and ordered large turkey sandwiches.  Though I usually don't drink coffee after noon time, I ordered a big cup to fortify myself for the ride back down the Cape.  By the time I got home I knew a good hot bath with epsom salts would be most wise....hell, we had walked over seven miles today in honor of Mother Earth!  No small feat for two women in their 60's!