Walking route · Olmsted's green thought
The Emerald Necklace, First Links
Before there were city parks anywhere in America, Boston built these. The first links of Olmsted's necklace, from the oldest common in the country to the palazzo in the Fens.
73 min5 stops2.1 mi walking
Stop 1 / 5
Boston Common
Park / Public space · Start here1634 — the oldest public park in America. Cows first, hangings and militia drills after, everyone since.
Open Boston Common →The full route
- 1Boston CommonStart · Park / Public space
1634 — the oldest public park in America. Cows first, hangings and militia drills after, everyone since.
- 2Boston Public Garden5 min walk walk · Park / Public space
Cross Charles Street and change centuries — Victorian formality, swan boats since 1877.
- 3Boston Public Library11 min walk walk · Building / Landmark
Detour through Copley: 'Free to All' carved over the door of the first great public library in America.
- 4Fenway Victory Gardens19 min walk walk · Park / Public space
Into the Fens — Olmsted's marsh-turned-park, now home to the country's oldest WWII victory gardens.
- 5Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum9 min walk walk · Museum / Cultural
End at Isabella's palazzo on the Fenway — the necklace's strangest jewel.