Over the years, some of the statues that were once in the Boston Public Garden have been replaced. One with an interesting story was the Mother and Child by sculptor, Isidore Konti.
I was curious about what happened to this statue and why it was eventually replaced by the Boy and the Bird.
From the archives of the Boston Globe, I learned that, “The statue was first placed there by the Art Commission in 1912 as one of a number of ‘fountain statues’ exhibited on the Public Garden that summer.” The Park Commission decided that this marble fountain was too fragile to maintain in an outdoor setting.
Groups of citizens including the Metropolitan Improvement League and the Boston City Club had tried to raise the $2500 needed to keep the statue but failed. On May 13th, 1916, it was shipped back to Buffalo, NY to the sculptor.
Over the years, some of the statues that were once in the Boston Public Garden have been replaced. One with an interesting story was the Mother and Child by sculptor, Isidore Konti.
I was curious about what happened to this statue and why it was eventually replaced by the Boy and the Bird.
From the archives of the Boston Globe, I learned that, “The statue was first placed there by the Art Commission in 1912 as one of a number of ‘fountain statues’ exhibited on the Public Garden that summer.” The Park Commission decided that this marble fountain was too fragile to maintain in an outdoor setting.
Groups of citizens including the Metropolitan Improvement League and the Boston City Club had tried to raise the $2500 needed to keep the statue but failed. On May 13th, 1916, it was shipped back to Buffalo, NY to the sculptor.
On a walk this week, a Dalmatian trotting along ahead of us set off a conversation about the dog breeds that were once abundant in our neighborhood and now are rare.
"The roles of this ancient breed are as varied as their reputed ancestors. They were used as dogs of war, guarding the borders of Dalmatia. To this day, the breed retains a high guarding instinct; although friendly and loyal to those the dog knows and trusts, it is often aloof with strangers and unknown dogs. Dalmatians have a strong hunting instinct and are an excellent exterminator of rats and vermin. In sporting, they have been used as bird dogs, trail hounds, retrievers, or in packs for boar or stag hunting. Their dramatic markings and intelligence have made them successful circus dogs throughout the years. Dalmatians are perhaps best known for their role as fire-fighting apparatus escorts and firehouse mascots. Since Dalmatians and horses are very compatible, the dogs were easily trained to run in front of the carriages to help clear a path and quickly guide the horses and firefighters to the fires.[39] Dalmatians are often considered to make good watchdogs, and they may have been useful to fire brigades as guard dogs to protect a firehouse and its equipment. Fire engines used to be drawn by fast and powerful horses, a tempting target for thieves, so Dalmatians were kept in the firehouse as deterrence to theft.[39]"
On a walk this week, a Dalmatian trotting along ahead of us set off a conversation about the dog breeds that were once abundant in our neighborhood and now are rare.
"The roles of this ancient breed are as varied as their reputed ancestors. They were used as dogs of war, guarding the borders of Dalmatia. To this day, the breed retains a high guarding instinct; although friendly and loyal to those the dog knows and trusts, it is often aloof with strangers and unknown dogs. Dalmatians have a strong hunting instinct and are an excellent exterminator of rats and vermin. In sporting, they have been used as bird dogs, trail hounds, retrievers, or in packs for boar or stag hunting. Their dramatic markings and intelligence have made them successful circus dogs throughout the years. Dalmatians are perhaps best known for their role as fire-fighting apparatus escorts and firehouse mascots. Since Dalmatians and horses are very compatible, the dogs were easily trained to run in front of the carriages to help clear a path and quickly guide the horses and firefighters to the fires.[39] Dalmatians are often considered to make good watchdogs, and they may have been useful to fire brigades as guard dogs to protect a firehouse and its equipment. Fire engines used to be drawn by fast and powerful horses, a tempting target for thieves, so Dalmatians were kept in the firehouse as deterrence to theft.[39]"
Most of us have passed or viewed the former Riverbank Court Hotel without a second thought about its history.
Here it is as the Riverbank Court Hotel in the early 1900s. (This photo by Leslie Jones is courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. Dated: 1934 – 1956 approximate)
Here it is today as Fariborz Maseeh Hall, an MIT residence located at 305 Memorial Drive.
This property found its way onto our "Then and Now" list because a photo of it from American Architect and Building News (January 1, 1901) keeps showing up on eBay labeled Charlesbank.
MIT has owned the building since 1937. In 1969, the building was included in the Historic American Building Survey. From that survey we know the history of ownership based on the Middlesex County Registry of deeds.
"1900 J. Whitman Bailey buys land at 305 Memorial Drive from Embankment Land Co. for the use of Samuel Carr, Francis Peabody, Jr., and Benjamin P. Hyde as trustees of the Riverbank Court Trust, established January 1, 1900. Deed Book £798, p. 220."
"1905 Albert S. Apsey and Hales W. Suter acquire land and buildings after foreclosure of Riverbank Court Trust's mortgage to Mercantile Trust Co. Deed Book 31*43, p. lUo."
"1905 Riverbank Court Hotel Co. acquires land and buildings and in 1906 registers property. Deed Book31^3,P-lW;Land Reg. Book6,p.593."
"1937 Massachusetts Institute of Technology purchases land and buildings. Land Reg. Book 28U, p. 197.:
It also listed the architect as H.B. Ball and set the date of construction at 1900.
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Most of us have passed or viewed the former Riverbank Court Hotel without a second thought about its history.
Here it is as the Riverbank Court Hotel in the early 1900s. (This photo by Leslie Jones is courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. Dated: 1934 – 1956 approximate)
Here it is today as Fariborz Maseeh Hall, an MIT residence located at 305 Memorial Drive.
This property found its way onto our "Then and Now" list because a photo of it from American Architect and Building News (January 1, 1901) keeps showing up on eBay labeled Charlesbank.
MIT has owned the building since 1937. In 1969, the building was included in the Historic American Building Survey. From that survey we know the history of ownership based on the Middlesex County Registry of deeds.
"1900 J. Whitman Bailey buys land at 305 Memorial Drive from Embankment Land Co. for the use of Samuel Carr, Francis Peabody, Jr., and Benjamin P. Hyde as trustees of the Riverbank Court Trust, established January 1, 1900. Deed Book £798, p. 220."
"1905 Albert S. Apsey and Hales W. Suter acquire land and buildings after foreclosure of Riverbank Court Trust's mortgage to Mercantile Trust Co. Deed Book 31*43, p. lUo."
"1905 Riverbank Court Hotel Co. acquires land and buildings and in 1906 registers property. Deed Book31^3,P-lW;Land Reg. Book6,p.593."
"1937 Massachusetts Institute of Technology purchases land and buildings. Land Reg. Book 28U, p. 197.:
It also listed the architect as H.B. Ball and set the date of construction at 1900.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Another day, another Twitter question to answer. This one came from Adam Gaffin over at Universal Hub. He asked if the proper name for the pond on the Boston Common was "Frog Pond" or "The Frog Pond." I went to the city's web page on the facility that uses "Boston Common Frog Pond," and to the group that manages it which refers to "The Boston Common Frog Pond."
Next I turned to books on the topic to see what those editors decided was the correct term. And it was here I began to find interesting bits of history and lore about the Frog Pond. Some are repeated in a few sources and others can't be verified.
In his 1903 "Boston A Guide Book," Edwin M. Bacon writes, “Near by lies the historic “Frog Pond,” so called, as the town wits have it, because it was never known to harbor a frog. The real frog pond was the Horse or Cow Pond, a shallow pool where the cows slaked their thirst or cooled their legs, which lay in the lowlands about the present band stand. The present pond is the survivor of three marshy bogs originally within the Common. It was the scene of the formal introduction of the public water system in 1848, for which celebration James Russell Lowell wrote his Ode on Water.”
We do know that in early days, the Boston Common was used to pasture animals and many sources describe three ponds and four hills on the site. Reports vary as to the source of the Frog Pond's water source. Some say it was spring fed, while others say it was just a muddy puddle at the bottom of Flagstaff Hill where the Soldiers & Sailors Monument now stands.
There are tales of women lighting fires under the great elm that once stood near the Frog Pond to do their laundry on the site. And forbidding smoking by the Frog Pond seems to have a long history. One book notes that in the mid-1800s people could smoke on the Common, only on weekdays and only near the Frog Pond. A later book cites that a law was passed forbidding smoking on the streets or on the Common. And, of course, today smoking is prohibited in all parks in Boston.
In an upcoming post, we'll tell you a bit more about the arrival of municipal water in Boston and the celebrations that took place at the Frog Pond.
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Once upon a time, back in 1946, Esplanade Magazine featured a bathing beauty and swimmers enjoying a summer day in and next to the Charles River near the Longfellow Bridge. Look at that sandy beach!
Here are a couple more views from the Boston Public Library's Collections.
Now, we plan to share with BostonZest readers more of the material from our collection of Charles River ephemera. The Esplanade Magazine cover is one of our favorite finds.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino Artwork as noted above.
Once upon a time, back in 1946, Esplanade Magazine featured a bathing beauty and swimmers enjoying a summer day in and next to the Charles River near the Longfellow Bridge. Look at that sandy beach!
Here are a couple more views from the Boston Public Library's Collections.
Now, we plan to share with BostonZest readers more of the material from our collection of Charles River ephemera. The Esplanade Magazine cover is one of our favorite finds.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino Artwork as noted above.
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