Esplanade |
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| Description |
Man made lagoon runs along the river next to the Hatch
Shell .
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| History |
Construction of the Charles River Dam in 1910 created
the opportunity for a major water park with landscaped river banks. Until
1936 the river banks were narrow green space promenades. The generous
gift of $1 million from Helen Storrow in memory of her husband, James,
enabled landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff to design the lagoons and
additional park lands.
Concerts on the Esplanade have been a tradition since 1910. The concerts gained international renown when, in the summer of 1929, Arthur Fiedler began the Boston Pops performances. In 1940, the construction of the Hatch Memorial Shell gave the Pops and a wide range of other artists and performers a first class stage for popular summer events .
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| Other |
The Charles River Basin and Esplanade retains a unique
place in this country's history of public recreation. Frederick Law Olmsted's
1889 design for Charlesbank was America's first public playground. Community
Boating was the country's first, and remains among the best, public boating
program. For a modest fee, thousands of people have learned to sail on
the Charles River. For those who prefer rowing, Community Rowing, located
at the Daly Rink on the Charles Basin in Newton, offers instruction to
the public. The Paul Dudley White Bike Path, a scenic 18-mile loop built
in 1960 around the basin, was the park system's first planned bicycle
path
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