391 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
Tlie Boston ParK S:Kstem 
Paper read by John C. Olmsted at the Boston Convention of the American Society of Landscape Architects, 
(Continued) 
The Fens 
The bridge over the waterway at Commonwealth 
Avenue had to be kept down to the standard elevation 
of the city streets which closely adjoin it, but the main 
drive thence southward had to rise rapidly to the eleva- 
tion required for a bridge over the Boston & Albany 
R. R., which to gain distance was placed on the west- 
erly boundary road of Charlesgate. It was not thought 
worth what it would cost to carry the easterly bound- 
ary road over this railroad by a bridge. 
Boylston Bridge was designed with a mucb wider 
and higher span than the engineering requirements 
called for especially in order to afford a particularly 
attractive view of the Fens landscape southward of it 
through the arch from the important view point on 
Commonwealth Avenue bridge. Care was taken to 
design the railroad bridge, which of course had to be 
paid for out of the park fund, yvithout side parapets or 
fences. With the usual obtuseness as to beauties of 
landscape the beautiful view has been blocked by a 
high board fence. It only remains now to paint star- 
ing advertising signs on this fence to complete the of- 
fensive obstrusion. 
It is to be hoped the Park Commission will some 
day substitute a diaphanous woven wire fence on the 
south side — none is needed on the north side — of this 
railroad. 
Agassiz Road which crosses the main basin of the 
park was dipped down to the lowest possible elevation 
to keep open the view through the length of the park. 
The Fenway, which is the main drive, being wide 
and accompanied by a bridle path, was made to swing 
to the east boundary and follow in spite of its greater 
length, because the borings in the salt marsh and mud 
flats showed hard bottom to be very much deeper down 
along the west side of the park than the east side. In- 
cidentally there are luore numerous and more important 
entrances on this east or cityward side. The waterway 
was made crooked to simulate the windings natural 
for a channel through a salt marsh and while the; 
boundaries prevented the retention of the original chan-: 
nels parts of them were availed of. As is usual in ; 
park designing in the naturalistic style more variety of 
scenery was compressed into the design than would ■ 
ordinarily be found in nature. 
Agassiz Bridge was designed with five small arches i 
so as to gain head room by diminishing the thickness; 
of the arch so as to permit canoeing. The channels; 
being narrow and tortuous, and the railroad bridges j 
having been divided into three spans likewise to gain; 
head room, it was designed to limit boating to canoes. I 
Five arches were used partly for picturesque effect buti 
partly as expressing the greater accommodation seem-t 
ingly needed for the waterway which had to pass the' 
floods of Stony Brook rapidly during the low stages' 
of the tide. Not being necessarily an imposing mass bf| 
masonry like Boylston Bridge, it was designed in an! 
ultra-picturesque style almost suggesting the interest- 1 
ing effect of a partly ruined but still standing and use-f 
ful ancient piece of comparatively unskilled mason-i 
work. The banks about it were planted, for the sake! 
of harmony, with this idea, as wildly as possible. Sucht 
art motives do not usually o-rcur to gardeners, nor if|: 
they exist they are not apt to be appreciated and one!! 
may therefore expect to see the plantations on the| 
slopes gradually transformed to tall bare trunked trees i 
with smooth turf covering, the ground under them, if; 
indeed, owing to excessive shade, any ground cover is' 
maintained. 
The five arch bridge at Huntington entrance was de- 
signed to be as markedly formal, as Agassiz Bridge 
was to be completely informal. 
The reasons for this marked contrast of motives 
arose from the circumstances of the case. Huntington 
entrance was formal and the walks under the foot 
bridge closely associated with this five arch bridge and 
the greater width and importance of the drive and' 
walks and bridle path tended to artificialize the sur-; 
