Public Garden and the Ducklings
America’s first public botanical garden, and ducklings with a twin in Moscow
The story
Before you is the Boston Public Garden, the first public botanical garden in America. The Common grew up as a pasture, but the Garden was meant for beauty from the start. In colonial times there were tidal marshes here, where people dug clams, shot snipe and went swimming. In 1837 seventeen Bostonians asked for this land to make a botanical garden. In 1859 the state decided it would stay public forever, and the citizens backed this by a vote of sixty to one. The winding pond and paths follow the plan of George Meacham, who won an open competition. Since 1877 Swan Boats have glided on the pond, and the Paget family still runs them. Here too are the bronze Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings. They march in single file toward the island in the pond, as in Robert McCloskey’s 1941 children’s book Make Way for Ducklings. Nancy Schön’s sculpture was unveiled in October 1987. The ducklings also have a Moscow twin. In 1991 a copy of the sculpture was installed in Moscow, in the park by the Novodevichy Convent. First Lady Barbara Bush gave it to Raisa Gorbachev, for the children of the Soviet Union. The figures, the cobblestones and the workers were flown to Moscow on a military cargo plane. Later, thieves sawed off four of the Moscow ducklings to sell as scrap metal. In 2000 they were replaced, and Mikhail Gorbachev attended the ceremony. The Boston ducklings are often dressed up: in the colors of local teams, for the Boston Marathon and for holidays.
Visiting
4 Charles Street, free entry. The Swan Boats run every day from early April to late September; rides are paid. The nearest subway stations are Arlington and Park Street.
Photos
Sources
- City of Boston — Public Garden
- Friends of the Public Garden — The Garden
- Wikipedia (EN) — Make Way for Ducklings (sculpture)
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