{"nrhp_refnum":"01000086","name":"Bell Rock Memorial Park","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Bounded by Main, Wigglesworth, Meridan, and Ellis Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Malden","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.420397561000044,"lon":-71.06722448171345,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-02-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 3.41-acre public park in Malden, Massachusetts, bounded by Main, Wigglesworth, Meridian and Ellis Streets, designed by Olmsted Brothers beginning in 1908 around the Flag Defenders Civil War monument and a natural rock outcropping.","why_significant":"The park is one of twelve known Olmsted-designed sites in Malden and the most intact, with about 90% of its original features remaining. It combines a naturalistic landscape with a formal monument by Bela Lyon Pratt, and it occupies the site of the town's first meeting house. It is listed under Criteria A and C for community planning, landscape architecture, recreation and art.","narrative":"Bell Rock Memorial Park is a 3.41-acre public park in a dense residential neighborhood of Malden, Massachusetts. The land has been open space since 1648 and includes a rock outcropping where the town's first meeting house stood. In 1658 a bell was hung there to call residents to worship, which gave the park its name. Olmsted Brothers began designing the park in 1908 to receive the Flag Defenders, a Civil War monument by sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt. The design pairs a naturalistic landscape of meandering paths and graded slopes with formal stairs and terraces at the monument. It is the most intact of twelve Olmsted-designed sites in Malden, with about 90 percent of its original features in place, including granite perimeter walls, topography and most walkways. Later additions include tablets and memorials from 1930 onward. Plantings have been largely lost, and the monument, walls and paths need repair. The park is significant for landscape architecture, art, planning and commemoration.","period_of_significance":"1908-1950","architect_builder":"Olmsted Brothers (Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.), landscape architects; Bela Lyon Pratt, sculptor of the Flag Defenders monument","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as in fair condition and minimally maintained. Many memorials are missing bronze tablets, and the monument, walls and paths need repair. The park continues to serve as a public park.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.044458-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/7961/63796134/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/01000086.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000086/d89b06a953-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000086/d89b06a953-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Bela Lyon Pratt","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MaldenMA_BellRockParkCivilWarMemorial.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bela Lyon Pratt</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MaldenMA_BellRockParkCivilWarMemorial.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796134","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Rock_Memorial_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4883247"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/bell-rock-memorial-park-01000086/"}