{"nrhp_refnum":"72000144","name":"Boston Common and Public Garden","other_names":["Tremont Street Subway","See Also:Boston Common","Boston Public G"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Beacon, Park, Tremont, Boylston, and Arlington Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.35502350000007,"lon":-71.06783880888162,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-07-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Art","Conservation","Military","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 74-acre public open-space district in central Boston, Massachusetts, made up of the 50-acre Boston Common (established 1634) and the 24-acre Public Garden (created 1839-56), bounded by Beacon, Park, Tremont, Boylston and Arlington Streets.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the Common and Garden are significant for conservation, landscape architecture, military and political history, and sculpture, across more than three centuries. The Common is considered the oldest public park in the country and served as a militia training ground and Revolutionary-era rallying point and encampment. The Public Garden grew from an 1839 Botanic Garden, and both hold a large collection of monumental sculpture.","narrative":"Boston Common and the adjoining Public Garden form 74 acres of open space at the center of Boston. The Common, set aside in 1634 for pasturage and militia training, is considered the oldest public park in the country. It still has Flagstaff Hill, topped since 1877 by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and Frog Pond. During the 1760s and 1770s it was a site of political events and the encampment of British troops. The Central Burying Ground dates from 1756. The Public Garden, on former tidal marshland, grew out of a Botanic Garden founded in 1839 and reached its present limits in 1856. It features a free-form pond with swan boats and naturalistic plantings. Statues and memorials by sculptors such as Augustus St. Gaudens, Daniel Chester French, Thomas Ball and J. Q. A. Ward fill both areas. Surrounding landmarks, including Beacon Hill and the State House, add to the setting.","period_of_significance":"17th through 20th centuries (specific dates: 1634 Common; 1839-56 Garden)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Boston and in public park use; condition rated good and described as altered. The Public Garden's Victorian cast-iron fence is described as deteriorating.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.733701-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/7970/63797062/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/72000144.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000144/ea15ae08ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000144/ea15ae08ed-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Common_Public_Garden_1890.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Common_Public_Garden_1890.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"87000760","name":"Boston Common","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/boston-common-87000760/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797062","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common_and_Public_Garden","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4947852"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/boston-common-and-public-garden-72000144/"}