Plan presented to the honble. the State Commissioners for the improvement of the Back Bay

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Item Information

Title:
Plan presented to the honble. the State Commissioners for the improvement of the Back Bay
Description:
The Back Bay was once a marsh flat, but by the late 1840s, the severely polluted quagmire was considered a public health hazard, and officials had no choice but to act. The Commissioners on Boston Harbor and the Back Bay were tasked with devising a plan to fill in the flat. They met in 1852 and heard the proposals of a number of stakeholders, including David Sears; a version of his plan, shown here, features a 37 ½-acre Silver Lake, complete with a tree-lined promenade. The Commissioners ultimately rejected his proposal, and commenced the land reclamation project in 1858.
Date:
[1852]
Format:
Maps
Location:
Boston Public Library
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center
Collection (local):
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
Subjects:
City planning--Massachusetts--Boston--Back Bay--Maps
Back Bay (Boston, Mass.)--Maps
Sears, David, 1787-1871
Places:
Massachusetts > Suffolk (county) > Boston > Back Bay
Extent:
1 map ; 36 x 48 cm.
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/cf95jd161
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Publisher:
Boston : s.n.
Scale:
Scale: 1:4,800.
Language:
English
Notes:
Oriented with north toward the upper right.
"See Mr. Sear's letter to the commissioners dated December 30th, 1850."
Issued with: Massachusetts Senate documents, 1852 (no. 45).
Notes (date):
This date is inferred.
Notes (exhibitions):
Exhibited: "Breathing Room: Mapping Boston's Green Spaces" organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 2018.
Identifier:
06_01_005002
Call #:
G3764.B6:2B2 1852 .P5
Barcode:
39999059009181

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The Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library cares for more than a quarter million cartographic and geographic objects, ranging from the fifteenth century to the present, with a global scope and a focus on Boston and New England. Created in 2004 as a private-public partnership between the philanthropist Norman B. Leventhal and the Boston Public Library, the LMEC is located in the McKim Building at the BPL's Central Library in Copley Square. The LMEC features a permanent exhibition gallery and extensive educational, interpretive, and research programs ... more