After a two-year hiatus, The Friends of the Public Garden can’t wait to kick off the season with our Summer Celebration on Brewer Plaza on Thursday, June 20, at 12:15 PM to 2:15 PM. This event is free and open to the public. Join us for entertainment by local artists and free lunch from Bon Me. For more information, visit https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org
Join Friends Executive Director Elizabeth Vizza at 4 pm on Thursday, August 1st at Brewer Fountain Plaza on the Common, near Park Street station to tour the site of the Friends $4 million renovation project in this corner of the park. Learn about the fountain, see how Phase I of the Friends’ renovation of the surrounding plaza and parkland has transformed this busy inner city crossroads, and hear about our plans to complete the project. The tour will conclude just in time for the weekly 5 p.m. jazz concert at the plaza, sponsored by the Friends and performed by students from Berklee College of Music.
Please RSVP at (617)723-8144 or via info@friendsofthepublicgarden.org.
The Friends of the Public Garden has received several major matching challenge pledges that will spearhead a campaign to raise the additional $200,000 it needs to complete its Brewer Fountain Plaza Project on historic Boston Common.
Anne Brooke, President of the Friends, said challenge pledges of $200,000 each have been made by the Lynch Foundation and Barbara and Amos Hostetter. An additional $250,000 has been pledged by the Friends’ Green and White Ball Committee.
“We are enormously grateful to the Lynch Foundation, the Hostetters and the Ball Committee,†Ms. Brooke said. “Thanks to their leadership and generosity every dollar contributed by will generate matching gifts totaling more than three dollars. It’s a three-to-one match.â€
Phase one of the $4 million Brewer Plaza Fountain Project was completed in 2012. It transformed the southeast corner of the Common at Park and Tremont Streets, creating a vibrant downtown gathering spot with café tables and chairs, quality food, lunchtime piano music, chess and checkers, a reading area, and summer jazz concerts. The final phase will include restoring the historic iron fence along Tremont Street, creating a landscaped edge to separate the park from the busy street and further enhancing this green oasis in the heart of the city.
Founded in 1970, the nonprofit Friends of the Public Garden works with the City of Boston to preserve and enhance Boston’s first public parks – the Boston Common, Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall. For additional information about the Friends and how you can support its work go to friendsofthepublicgarden.org.
The Boston Urban Forest Council presents a Summer Tree Stroll on Wednesday, July 11, from 6:30 – 8. Meet at the Brewer Fountain on the Boston Common (behind the Park Street T-Station.) Summer evenings are the perfect time to notice the shapes of trees. Come and learn to distinguish between the upright ginkgo, the spreading oak, and the vase shaped elm. You will also learn to identify leaves and find historic trees as you walk the Common and the Public Garden, enjoying the beauty of a summer evening. Sponsored by Boston Natural Areas Network in partnership with the Friends of the Public Garden and the Boston Parks & Recreation department. Please register for this free event by calling 617-542-7696, or emailing info@bostonnatural.org. Photo from www.joenesgarden.com.
The Friends of the Public Garden, in association with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and Boston Parks Commissioner Antonia Pollak, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of construction of the Brewer Plaza and surrounding green space near the Brewer Fountain by Tremont Street on Wednesday, March 23, at noon.
Liz Vizza, Executive Director of the Friends of the Public Garden, will be the featured speaker at the February meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay. She will talk about the history of The Brewer Fountain on the Boston Common, and the recent undertaking to restore this Boston monument. Prior to joining the Friends in March, 2009, Liz, a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the Conway School of Landscape Design, ran a consulting firm focused on revitalization of urban open space and cultural landscapes, and facilitated master planning and organizational development for cultural and environmental institutions. Program free and open to the public, but reservations are required. An optional lunch will follow the presentation ($20). Email info@bostonflora.com to reserve. Garden Club members will receive written notification in the mail.
The City of Boston will celebrate the restoration of the Brewer Fountain with the Friends of the Public Garden, Save America’s Treasures, and the Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Fund on Wednesday, May 26, beginning at 3 pm, at the Brewer Fountain on the Boston Common, with a reception to follow. This is a free event, part of The Friends of the Public Garden’s 40th Anniversary celebration year. For more information, log on to www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org.
Starting Friday, December 11, join Rabbi Chaim Prus at the Brewer Fountain at Boston Common, between Tremont and West Streets, from 2:30 pm – 7:00 pm for the lighting of the Hanukkah Menorah, The Brewer Street Fountain is half a block down from Park Street Station. For more information, call 617-424-1190.
The Friends of the Public Garden presents News of Brewer Fountain Plaza Renovation, Boston Common, on Tuesday, October 20, beginning at 6:00 pm at The Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street in Boston. Come hear the plans to revitalize the landscape in this heavily used area of the park, making it a greener, more inviting gateway into the Common and a destination within the park, with a restored Brewer Fountain as its centerpiece. Also, hear about the plans to celebrate the Friends of the Public Garden’s 40th Anniversary in 2010. Reception follows. The event is free but please RSVP and make a reservation, as space is limited. Email by Thursday, October 15 at fopg@gis.net, or call 617-723-8144.
The Friends of the Public Garden, in conjunction with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, invite you to a presentation on a proposal for the renovation of the Brewer Plaza on Boston Common. The meeting will take place Tuesday, September 15, from 7 – 9 pm, at Suffolk University, 120 Tremont St., 4th Floor. See and hear about plans to renovate the Plaza, making a greener, more inviting gateway into the Common and a destination within the park with a restored Brewer Fountain as its centerpiece. For questions, call the Friends of the Public Garden office at 617-723-8144.
