Conceived as the centerpiece of a grand boulevard meant to rival those of Second Empire Paris, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall was an integral feature of the original Back Bay plan of 1858. Extending ten blocks, from Arlington Street to Kenmore Square, this linear park is today both the verdant heart of the neighborhood and a vital link in the Emerald Necklace, connecting the Public Garden and Common to the east with the Fens and Franklin Park to the west. One hundred feet wide and studded with distinguished memorial statuary beneath a canopy of ornamental trees, the Mall we know and cherish may, in fact, owe as much to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as to the nineteenth. Continuously evolving to reflect the changing city around it, the Mall has been prudently husbanded to absorb the addition of new monuments, the introduction of accessibility and the incorporation of lighting, to say nothing of the vigilant management of its plant materials. As a result of such tireless efforts, this much-loved place seems only to grow in beauty and meaning from year to year. Explore the many ways in which the Mall has become not a facsimile of itself but the ongoing fulfillment of a farsighted vision.
The May 29 tour, beginning at 5 pm, will be led by William Young, Assistant Director for Historic Districts, who has staffed the Back Bay Architectural Commission since 1991, and Margaret Pokorny, Chair of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee of The Friends of the Public Garden, and past President of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc.
Meeting place will be confirmed at time of reservation. Free and open to the public, but as no more than 30 participants may be accommodated, pre-registration is required. Co-sponsored by the Back Bay Architectural Commission, The Friends of the Public Garden, The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc., and The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. Contact info@nabbonline.org to reserve a place before May 22.
