Map of Boston and of a part of its suburbs : showing public recreation grounds, burial grounds and certain other public properties generally free from buildings

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Map of Boston and of a part of its suburbs

Item Information

Title:
Map of Boston and of a part of its suburbs : showing public recreation grounds, burial grounds and certain other public properties generally free from buildings
Description:
Boston in the Gilded Age exhibition: Published during the height of the growth of green spaces throughout the city, this map shows the numerous areas where citizens could receive respite from the crowded city streets. Fully developed public recreation grounds were shown, as well as lands intended for future use as park spaces.In addition to parks, numerous cemeteries were also included. Before the establishment of Boston’s park system, garden cemeteries such as Mount Hope in Mattapan served as sites of outdoor recreation for the local residents, and became an impetus for the development of municipal parks. Breathing Room exhibition: In 1885, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted prepared a report detailing his plans for Franklin Park. This map, featured in the report, shows 186 open spaces either serving or available to serve as “recreation grounds or breathing-places.” While he recognized the value of parks in providing Bostonians with fresh air and active recreation, he wished to create an oasis devoted to quiet repose in a picturesque rural landscape. To Olmsted, cholera was not the only danger facing city dwellers; he believed that the overcrowding and artificiality of the built environment caused irritability, anxiety, and nervous tension that were remedied by passive recreation in rural scenery.
Creator:
Boston (Mass.). Park Commissioners
Date:
1886
Format:
Maps/Atlases
Location:
Boston Public Library
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center
Collection (local):
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
Subjects:
Parks--Massachusetts--Boston--Maps
Cemeteries--Massachusetts--Boston--Maps
Boston (Mass.)--Maps
Places:
Massachusetts > Suffolk (county) > Boston
Extent:
1 map : col. ; 88 x 73 cm.
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Publisher:
Boston : [s.n.]
Scale:
Scale 1:15,840.
Language:
English
Notes:
Oriented with north toward the upper left.
Includes inset of Boston Harbor.
Notes (exhibitions):
Exhibited: "Boston in the Gilded Age: Mapping Public Places" organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 2012-2013.
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_004416
Call #:
G3764.B6G5 1886 .B67
Barcode:
39999059006583