Boston Common
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View of the water celebration on Boston Common on October 25, 1848
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Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
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Area | 50 acres (200,000 m2) |
Built | 1634 |
Architect | Multiple, including Augustus St. Gaudens |
NRHP Reference # |
72000144 (original) 87000760 (new) |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 12, 1972 (original, in NRHP also including Boston Public Garden) February 27, 1987 (new, in NHL of Boston Common alone) |
Designated NHLD | February 27, 1987 |
Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a central public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons". Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of 50 acres (20 ha) of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street. The Common is part of the Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways that extend from the Common south to Franklin Park in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester. A visitors' center for all of Boston is located on the Tremont Street side of the park.
The Central Burying Ground is located on the Boylston Street side of Boston Common and contains the burial sites of the artist Gilbert Stuart and the composer William Billings. Also buried there are Samuel Sprague and his son, Charles Sprague, one of America's earliest poets. Samuel Sprague was a participant in the Boston Tea Party and fought in the Revolutionary War. The Common was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1977.