BOSTON MA

BOSTON MA

The Parkman Bandstand

Boston Common

Built - 1912

The Boston Common is considered to be the very beginning of the park system in America since it was the earliest public green in 17th century Boston being mentioned in public records as early as 1634. It comprises 50 acres of open land and has served many purposes including military drills and training, recreational and the grazing of cattle. It was originally owned by William Blackstone who purchased the land in 1634 as a militia "training field' and for the "feeding of cattle." When the British Army occupied Boston, they used the land as their encampment.

In 1823 the rules pertaining to the use of the Common were enacted whereby no person was allowed to graze more than one cow at a time and by 1830, cows were completely forbidden in the area. Soon after, public amusement was always the primary attraction on the Boston Common where amusements remained for many years and the land was a favorite launching site for balloon flights. Traveling entertainment shows, puppet shows, telescopes, scales, blowing machines, booths selling gingerbread, spruce beer, lemonade and sugar plums and even a "Smokers Circle" were set up which became a fashionable spot for young ladies from the Beacon Hill area of the city.

But all was not fun and games on the Common since there were many hangings and whipings until the gallows were removed in 1817. Blacks were not allowed free access to the Common until July 4, 1836.

The Boston Common is 5-sided but with 3 long sides making it more of a triangle. Over the years many structures and areas of activities were added decreasing the open areas but one structure is cherished and that is the Parkman Memorial Bandstand which is located near the northeast corner of the Common. The structure was erected in 1912 by authority of the Honorable John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor and the City Council under the supervision of the Superintendent of the Public Grounds - D. Henry Sullivan and The Music Trustees - William C. Brooks, Chairman.

The bandstand was built as a memorial to George F. Parkman, a very generous benefactor of the Boston Park System and was designed by the Boston firm of Derby, Robinson and Shepard. It was built with funds from the Parkman Trust.

The bandstand is a neo-classical structure and appears to be a modified copy of the Temple d'Amour at the Petit Trianon, Versailles, France and was built with pink Knoxville Marble. It has been also made handicapped accessible and now stands as an architectural centerpiece in the Common. It has synnetrical walkways, trees and benches.

The bandstand held host to many concerts in the past but now is only occasionally used as a bandstand but is more of an eyeful attraction and meeting place on this historical Boston Common area.

BOSTON MA

BOSTON MA

Hatch Memorial Shell

Charles River Lower Basin

Built - 1940

Arthur Fiedler was a very distinguished looking, white-haired fellow with a warm but sometimes very mysterious stage presence. He will go down in history as one of Boston's best known and beloved citizens since he brought music lovers locally, and from around the world, to Boston's Hatch Shell for over 50 years. He was a remarkable conductor who led the Boston Pops Orchestra for five seasons longer than all of his 17 predecessors combined. In 1924 he initiated the idea and effort to have his own formed Boston Sinfonietta, a chamber orchestra made up of a few of the Boston Symphony's members, bring music outdoors and began a series of free concerts. In 1929, his efforts were rewarded with his first Esplanade Concert on the Charles River. He not only distinguished himself as a conductor and musician, but also as a leading citizen of Boston and received many honors.

In 1926, Boston heiress Maria E. Hatch died leaving much of her vast fortune to orphans, blind babies and the elderly. She also set aside $300,000 for Boston's "public need for a beauty spot." She clearly stated in her will that any park, playground or memorial built with this money should pay tribute to her late brother - Edward Hatch, and be open to the public. This money was eventually used to build one of the most famous music shells in the world - The Hatch Shell - on Boston's Esplanade. Maria had never married and upon her death, much of this money set aside for Boston's beautification sat untouched until the late 1930s when Paul Dever, then Attorney General, discovered it. As it turned out, the city did need a new acoustic band shell after the first one built in 1929 for Maestro Arthur Fiedler's Esplanade Concerts, had to be taken apart and stored every winter.

Hatch's money totally financed this new music shell whose proper title is the Edward A. Hatch Memorial Concertium, and was dedicated in 1940 with some of her remaining money used to add amplification in 1958. The site is an urban parkland bordered by the Storrow Drive Parkway on the east and the Charles River on the west. This Hatch Shell continued a tradition of public concerts dating to 1910 after the tract of land was developed back in 1903 by the Charles River Basin Commission. The first portable music shell was erected in 1929.

The general description of the shell structure is as follows: "Large, granite veneered, Art-Deco music shell, 40 feet high and 110 wide at the shell (160 wide at the stairs), backed by a flat roof, 1 story, facilities complex. The small, 1-story, gabled roofed, clapboarded Cafe'Esplanade and Refreshment Stand sits across a statue-perimetered infield/music oval. The concrete Fiedler Footbridge passes over Storrow Drive while a single arched masonry pedestrian bridge connects the Hatch's infield with the outer lagoon walkway." - www.state.ma.us.

The amphitheatre lawn is 2+ acres bordered by tree-lined pathways having a river frontage and a system of lagoons. The entire site includes some very spectacular spring-blooming cherry trees and is a favorite pathway for walkers, bikers and skaters.

The Hatch Shell has been used mainly for outdoor concerts, performing arts, films and the lawn frozen over for ice skating during the colder months. The Shell has also been used for numerous movie shoots over the years being one of Boston's most famous landmark. But the band shell is best known for performances by famous conductors and performers and the Boston Pops especially during the 4th of July holiday.

BOSTON MA

BOSTON MA

Government Center Plaza

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