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Boston Public Garden

Parks ·Boston
4.829.0K
#2Parks in BostonTravelers' Choice 2026
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About

Boston Public Garden is America’s first public botanical garden, a landscaped park in central Boston beside Boston Common.

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Boston Public Garden — The garden's suspension bridge spanning the lagoon Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 · edited
Boston Public Garden — The garden's suspension bridge spanning the lagoonBoston Public Garden — Garden pond with a leafy island and surrounding treesBoston Public Garden — Open lawn, ornamental shrubs, and a garden monumentBoston Public Garden — Visitors beside the pond beneath large willow treesBoston Public Garden — Shaded garden paths crossing broad green lawnsBoston Public Garden — Willows and the garden's small island reflected in the pondBoston Public Garden — Autumn trees and Boston buildings across the lagoonBoston Public Garden — Pond and tree-lined banks viewed from the garden shoreBoston Public Garden — Illuminated garden path beneath trees at nightBoston Public Garden — Visitors relaxing beside the pond under drooping willows

Why go

  • Ride the Swan Boats around the four-acre pond; a guide pedals them, and they have circled it since 1877.
  • See unusual trees, including dawn redwoods and a California redwood, among Victorian floral patterns and meandering paths.
  • See the cast-iron Japanese garden lantern beside the pond, dating to 1587 and brought from Kyoto’s Momoya palace garden.

Entrances

  • Arlington Street entranceA straight path and bridge connect this entrance with the Charles Street entrance.Arlington Street gate
  • Charles and Beacon streets entranceAt Charles and Beacon streets
  • Charles Street east entranceAt the east side of the garden on Charles Street

Don't miss

  • George Washington equestrian statueThomas Ball designed and cast this bronze statue, unveiled in 1869. The statue and granite pedestal together rise 38 feet.At the Arlington Street gate, facing Commonwealth Avenue.
  • Ether MonumentThe garden’s oldest monument commemorates the first use of ether as an anesthetic. John Quincy Adams Ward designed it; its 30-foot height includes carvings of the Good Samaritan.Northwest corner of the garden.
  • Boy and BirdBashka Paeff’s 1934 bronze depicts a crouching boy holding a bird. She modeled it while working as a ticket taker at Park Street Station.
  • Triton Babies FountainAnna Coleman Ladd’s fountain was the garden’s first statue made by a woman; its children depict her two daughters.East side of the garden.
  • BagheeraKipling’s Jungle Book panther is nearly hidden by a tree.

Photo spots

  • Lagoon willowsPhotograph the weeping willows around the lagoon.Around the lagoon.
  • Small Child FountainFind the fountain just north of the George Washington equestrian statue.Just north of the George Washington equestrian statue.
  • Angel of the Waters fountainCreated in 1924 by Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon, this fountain honors philanthropist George Robert White.

Shorts

History

George F. Meacham won the public design competition and reshaped former salt marsh into the garden. City engineer James Slade and forester John Galvin laid out its paths and flower beds. Friends of the Public Garden and Common formed in 1970 to preserve and improve the garden, Boston Common and Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

  1. 1796The land began serving as a ropewalk.
  2. 1824Boston bought back the land granted to ropemakers for $50,000.
  3. 1825A proposal to use the land as a cemetery was defeated.
  4. 1837Horace Gray petitioned to use the land for a public botanical garden, and the garden was established.
  5. 1856The garden received its building permit.
Show all
  1. 1859The city approved the detailed garden plan, the pond was completed, and a state decision secured public access.
  2. 1862The wrought-iron perimeter fence was completed.
  3. 1867The Public Garden Foot Bridge opened over the lagoon.

How to get there

  • On footFrom Boston Common, cross Charles Street to reach the garden.
  • On footBoylston Street borders the south, Arlington Street the west and Beacon Street the north.
  • TrainThe garden is at 4 Charles St, near Arlington station.

Sources: Boston Public Garden - Wikipedia · Boston Public Garden - Wikipedia (part 2) · Boston/Back Bay-Beacon Hill - Wikivoyage (see) · Public Garden | Boston.gov · Boston Public Garden - Wikipedia · Boston Public Garden - Wikipedia · checked 28 Sep 2026

Where
4 Charles St, MA, Boston

Plan from here: Evening walk →

Questions and answers

Who operates the Swan Boats in Boston Public Garden?

The Paget family has created and operated them for more than 100 years.

Where are Boston Public Garden’s bedding plants grown?

The city supplies plantings from 14 greenhouses at Franklin Park, cultivating more than 80 species for future garden plantings.

Was Boston Public Garden’s pond island always an island?

The small island on the pond’s north side was once a peninsula popular with couples. Forester John Galvin had its land connection removed.

Where is the September 11 memorial in Boston Public Garden?

Just inside the garden at Arlington and Newbury streets, it commemorates 206 Massachusetts residents killed in the attacks.

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