344 
PARK AND 
Commonive^lth Avenue. 
It is said that the late Arthur Gilman, architect 
of the City Hall, suggested Commonwealth Avenue 
from the Public Garden to Massachusetts Avenue as 
the central feature of the new residential district. It 
is 250 feet wide between house fronts and the central 
lawns are 100 feet wide, including a central prome- 
nade in which at intervals are the following monu- 
ments: statue of Alexander Hamilton, by William 
Rimmer ; of General Stephen Glover, by Martin Mil- 
more; of Wniiam Lloyd Garrison, by Olin L. Warner. 
Unfortunately this section of Commonwealth Ave- 
nue is lacking in suitable terminal features, doubtless 
because of the excessive utilitarianism of the Com- 
missioners and Engineer of the Commonwealth. 
When the next section of the Back Bay district 
west of Massachusetts Avenue came to be filled, the 
engineer in charge for utilitarian reasons, that is to 
avoid a very long diagonal bridge over the Boston and 
Albany R. R. and to afford regular blocks of land 
parallel with the railroad, diverted Commonwealth Ave- 
nue and again ignored the opportunity to create a 
dignified feature such as a “public square” or cir- 
cle, which would have afforded a suitable site for a 
great monument or public building facing east towards 
the older portions of Commonwealth Avenue. 
The Ne<w Park Movement. 
Stimulated, no doubt, by the great success of Cen- 
tral Park in New York City, and of Prospect Park in 
Brooklyn, and other park projects in other cities of 
the country and by the land boom which culminated 
in 1873, ^ petition was widely circulated and signed 
by citizens during 1869 in favor of a new public park. 
As a result of this petition and of the speeches and 
newspaper articles, a Joint Special Committee of the 
City Council on a New Public Park was appointed. 
After various public hearings this Committee reported 
to the City Council December 20th, 1869. The report 
was adopted and the Mayor presented to the Legis- 
lature a draft of a bill to establish a Park Commission. 
The bill as amended was passed but required a two- 
thirds vote of the people accepting it. The subject 
of parks had not, however, been sufficiently agitated 
and conservatism and the usual dread of increased 
taxation aided, no doubt, by a democratic dislike for 
a provision of the bill which required part of the mem- 
bers of the Board to be appointed by the Governor, 
resulted in the failure of the bill to secure the re- 
quisite two-thirds vote when submitted in the election 
of 1870. 
After various other efforts a different park commis- 
sion act was finally passed and accepted by popular 
vote in 1875. This act, however, left the supplying 
funds to the City Council, requiring a two-thirds vote 
of each chamber. This practically blocked further 
progress until 1877, when after much agitation, the 
CE-ME^TE-RY. 
City Council, fairly driven by public opinion, and by 
the even more effective lobbying of land owners and 
speculators who expected to derive a profit thereby, 
finally authorized the laying out of a park in the un- 
improved portion of the Back Bay, and provided by 
borrowing the funds necessary to pay for the land pur- 
chased. 
The old Common and the newer Public Garden 
together with the numerous public squares which it was 
the custom for land owners to dedicate when they 
sub-divided their lands into streets and lots, had been 
managed by a Joint Committee of the City Council. 
Notwithstanding the appointment of a Park Commis- 
sion in 1875 this arrangement still continues. It is 
desirable for the practial reason that is keeps the later 
park system out of politics. 
Most of the parks and parkways of Boston form a 
connected system. One can drive without going out 
of lands controlled by the Park Commission from the 
Public Garden, through Commonwealth Avenue, the 
Fens, Riverway, Olmsted Park, Arborway, Franklin 
Park, Columbia Road, and along the Strandway to 
Marine Park. 
Blue Hill Avenue has been widened to a double 
roadway Boulevard from Franklin Park to Mattapan 
where it connects with a boulevard of the Metropoli- 
tan Park Commission extending to the Blue Hill 
Reservation. 
From the Riverway, a parkway drive branches off 
to Audubon Circle whence one may drive in a park- 
way 160 feet wide, (Beacon Street) to Chesnut Hill 
Reservoir, or by Commonwealth Avenue 200 feet wide 
to the same point, and by Newton Boulevard, 120 feet 
to the Charles River at Auburndale. 
Land was secured years ago but has not yet been de- 
veloped for a parkway with wide picturesque margins 
from Arnold Arboretum to Stony Brook Reservation. 
It connects with the parkway system of the Metro- 
politan Park Commission. 
The Stran^ay. 
This will certainly be a very imposing parkway 
when completed and when the trees have grown. It 
has two roadways, one on the landward side for ac- 
cess to house lots, and the other adjoining a wide, 
gently sloping gravel beach, artificially formed. There 
are fine views over (Boston Harbor, except where it 
was thought best to locate several yacht club houses. 
The long curves and changing views will tend to re- 
lieve the formal monotony of the parallel, level road- 
ways and rows of trees, as will also, various scraps of 
land on the landward side due to making the boundary 
follow odd lot lines in some places. Large areas in the 
shallow bay are being dredged to improve the anchor- 
age ground for yachts. The myriads of little yachts 
and sail boats here constitute one of the sights of 
Boston. ('Po be continued.) 
