العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolFRANKLIN PARK, BOSTON
(Redirected from Franklin Park (Boston))
'Franklin Park', a partially-wooded 527-acre parkland in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts, is maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. It is Boston's biggest park and the site of 'Franklin Park Zoo'.
Considered a country park when it was formed in the 19th century, Franklin Park is the largest and last component of the Emerald Necklace created by Frederick Law Olmsted. Although often neglected in the past, it is considered the "crown jewel" of Olmsted's work in Greater Boston. [1][2]
Named for Boston-born patriot Benjamin Franklin, the park brings together rural scenery, a woodland preserve, and areas for active recreation and sports. Franklin Park also has six miles of roads and fifteen miles of pedestrian and bridle paths to explore.[1][4]
Much of Franklin Park is scenic and devoted to the general use and enjoyment of the public. Scarboro Pond and Endicott Arch are popular sites within the park, as are the large forested areas. The park also has picnic areas, stone bridges, outcroppings of Roxbury Puddingstone, and old stone ruins, specifically the Long Crouch Woods of Roxbury—also known as "the Bear Dens."[5][1][7]
Main articles: Franklin Park Zoo
Franklin Park Zoo is located within park grounds. The 72-acre site zoo has such exotic animals as western lowland gorillas, a white tiger, and a herd of Grevy's zebra. Franklin Park Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in North America and it is the largest zoo in New England. [8]
The Long Crouch Woods—also known as "the Bear Dens"—are owned by the City of Boston's Department of Parks and Recreation in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Once the focus of the Franklin Park Zoo (the zoo named in honor of Benjamin Franklin), the Bear Dens were designed and built in 1912, and planned to have a small collection of domestic animals. The original grounds featured a grand staircase leading to a large courtyard, framed by several large iron bear cages. One of these cages featured a detailed stone sculpture of bears and the crest of the City of Boston.[9] Plans of expanding the Long Crouch Woods section of the zoo never came to fruition. As the grounds detiorated, and as the Parks Department neglected many of the landscape's most basic management needs, the Bear Dens became too expensive to maintain. With this--combined with the looming violence of the Roxbury race riots of the 1950s that drove many visitors from the zoo--the Bear Dens were officially abandonded in 1954.
Efforts have been made since 1980 to make Long Crouch Woods into a nature preserve with a snack bar and theatre facility, however, plans have continued to stall. Today, it continues to be an area used for illicit activities and illegal dumping. The Franklin Park Coalition cleared the trash out of the area in 2002, and in 2007 was awarded a grant of $36,000 for materials and professional landscaping work to restore paths in the Long Crouch Woods area of Franklin Park. The project will be completed with labor from summer youth crews comprised of at-risk teens from the surrounding area. [10]
Franklin Park contains the eighteen-hole William J. Devine golf course (the second oldest public course in the nation) as well as tennis courts, baseball fields, and several basketball courts. Boston RFC play their matches at the park. There are large open areas used for lacrosse and soccer. One area of the park is used for cricket on Sunday afternoons. The park is a famed cross country course, hosting countless high school and collegiate meets throughout the year. Franklin Park is home to the Massachusetts All-States Meet as well as the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship every other year (alternating with Van Courtlandt Park in New York City). The park includes courses for 5000 meters, 6000 meters, 8000 meters and 10000 meters. Franklin Park also won the honor of hosting the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1992, as a special 12.5 kilometer course was used for competition. Each course includes variants of 3 major loops, the stadium loop, the Bear Cage hill loop, and the wilderness loop. The stadium loop simply goes around the back of White Stadium, while the Bear Cage loop climbs the fairly significant Bear Cage Hill. The wilderness loop crosses into the wooded area of the park and follows a twisting path through the tree. There are many concerns regarding continued use of the park as a racing facility, including erosion and disturbances of residents who wish to use the park for walks or peaceful bike rides. As races are hosted almost every Saturday (and a good number of Sundays) this issue will continue to be controversial.[5][12]
Franklin Park has an open-air public performance space known as the "Playhouse in the Park". This area has featured such renowned musicians as the Billy Taylor Trio and the Boston Pops. [13]
Before the park was created, an unhappy local teacher named Ralph Waldo Emerson lived in a small cabin atop what is now named "Schoolmaster Hill". Emerson drew upon the landscape for inspiration for nature poetry and essays. Besides a plaque devoted to Emerson's memory, Schoolmaster Hill offers a spectacular view of the Blue Hills.[14]
Other parks and parkways of the Emerald Necklace:
★ Boston Common
★ Boston Public Garden
★ Commonwealth Avenue Mall
★ Back Bay Fens
★ The Fenway
★ The Riverway
★ The Jamaicaway
★ Olmsted Park
★ Jamaica Pond Park
★ The Arborway
★ Arnold Arboretum
★ Franklin Park
1. Emerald Necklace Conservancy
2. Franklin Park Coalition
3. Emerald Necklace Conservancy
4. In its early stages, Franklin Park was known as "West Roxbury Park" as this area was considered West Roxbury rather than Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, as it is today. ("Franklin Park Notes" by Richard Health, January 22, 1981 edition of ''Jamaica Plain Citizen'')
5. Franklin Park: Heart of Boston
6. Emerald Necklace Conservancy
7. [1]
8. Franklin Park Zoo
9. [2]
10. [3]
11. Franklin Park: Heart of Boston
12. William J. Devine Gold Course
13. Playhouse in the Park
14. Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Schoolmaster of Franklin Park (pdf format)
★ Emerald Necklace Conservancy
★ Zoo New England
★ Franklin Park Coalition
★ Franklin Park history & details
'Franklin Park', a partially-wooded 527-acre parkland in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts, is maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. It is Boston's biggest park and the site of 'Franklin Park Zoo'.
| Contents |
| General description |
| Zoo |
| Long Crouch Woods |
| Athletic areas |
| Playhouse |
| Schoolmaster Hill |
| The Emerald Necklace |
| References |
| External links |
General description
Considered a country park when it was formed in the 19th century, Franklin Park is the largest and last component of the Emerald Necklace created by Frederick Law Olmsted. Although often neglected in the past, it is considered the "crown jewel" of Olmsted's work in Greater Boston. [1][2]
Named for Boston-born patriot Benjamin Franklin, the park brings together rural scenery, a woodland preserve, and areas for active recreation and sports. Franklin Park also has six miles of roads and fifteen miles of pedestrian and bridle paths to explore.[1][4]
Much of Franklin Park is scenic and devoted to the general use and enjoyment of the public. Scarboro Pond and Endicott Arch are popular sites within the park, as are the large forested areas. The park also has picnic areas, stone bridges, outcroppings of Roxbury Puddingstone, and old stone ruins, specifically the Long Crouch Woods of Roxbury—also known as "the Bear Dens."[5][1][7]
Zoo
Main articles: Franklin Park Zoo
Franklin Park Zoo is located within park grounds. The 72-acre site zoo has such exotic animals as western lowland gorillas, a white tiger, and a herd of Grevy's zebra. Franklin Park Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in North America and it is the largest zoo in New England. [8]
Long Crouch Woods
The Long Crouch Woods—also known as "the Bear Dens"—are owned by the City of Boston's Department of Parks and Recreation in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Once the focus of the Franklin Park Zoo (the zoo named in honor of Benjamin Franklin), the Bear Dens were designed and built in 1912, and planned to have a small collection of domestic animals. The original grounds featured a grand staircase leading to a large courtyard, framed by several large iron bear cages. One of these cages featured a detailed stone sculpture of bears and the crest of the City of Boston.[9] Plans of expanding the Long Crouch Woods section of the zoo never came to fruition. As the grounds detiorated, and as the Parks Department neglected many of the landscape's most basic management needs, the Bear Dens became too expensive to maintain. With this--combined with the looming violence of the Roxbury race riots of the 1950s that drove many visitors from the zoo--the Bear Dens were officially abandonded in 1954.
Efforts have been made since 1980 to make Long Crouch Woods into a nature preserve with a snack bar and theatre facility, however, plans have continued to stall. Today, it continues to be an area used for illicit activities and illegal dumping. The Franklin Park Coalition cleared the trash out of the area in 2002, and in 2007 was awarded a grant of $36,000 for materials and professional landscaping work to restore paths in the Long Crouch Woods area of Franklin Park. The project will be completed with labor from summer youth crews comprised of at-risk teens from the surrounding area. [10]
Athletic areas
Franklin Park contains the eighteen-hole William J. Devine golf course (the second oldest public course in the nation) as well as tennis courts, baseball fields, and several basketball courts. Boston RFC play their matches at the park. There are large open areas used for lacrosse and soccer. One area of the park is used for cricket on Sunday afternoons. The park is a famed cross country course, hosting countless high school and collegiate meets throughout the year. Franklin Park is home to the Massachusetts All-States Meet as well as the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship every other year (alternating with Van Courtlandt Park in New York City). The park includes courses for 5000 meters, 6000 meters, 8000 meters and 10000 meters. Franklin Park also won the honor of hosting the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1992, as a special 12.5 kilometer course was used for competition. Each course includes variants of 3 major loops, the stadium loop, the Bear Cage hill loop, and the wilderness loop. The stadium loop simply goes around the back of White Stadium, while the Bear Cage loop climbs the fairly significant Bear Cage Hill. The wilderness loop crosses into the wooded area of the park and follows a twisting path through the tree. There are many concerns regarding continued use of the park as a racing facility, including erosion and disturbances of residents who wish to use the park for walks or peaceful bike rides. As races are hosted almost every Saturday (and a good number of Sundays) this issue will continue to be controversial.[5][12]
Playhouse
Franklin Park has an open-air public performance space known as the "Playhouse in the Park". This area has featured such renowned musicians as the Billy Taylor Trio and the Boston Pops. [13]
Schoolmaster Hill
Before the park was created, an unhappy local teacher named Ralph Waldo Emerson lived in a small cabin atop what is now named "Schoolmaster Hill". Emerson drew upon the landscape for inspiration for nature poetry and essays. Besides a plaque devoted to Emerson's memory, Schoolmaster Hill offers a spectacular view of the Blue Hills.[14]
The Emerald Necklace
Other parks and parkways of the Emerald Necklace:
★ Boston Common
★ Boston Public Garden
★ Commonwealth Avenue Mall
★ Back Bay Fens
★ The Fenway
★ The Riverway
★ The Jamaicaway
★ Olmsted Park
★ Jamaica Pond Park
★ The Arborway
★ Arnold Arboretum
★ Franklin Park
References
1. Emerald Necklace Conservancy
2. Franklin Park Coalition
3. Emerald Necklace Conservancy
4. In its early stages, Franklin Park was known as "West Roxbury Park" as this area was considered West Roxbury rather than Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, as it is today. ("Franklin Park Notes" by Richard Health, January 22, 1981 edition of ''Jamaica Plain Citizen'')
5. Franklin Park: Heart of Boston
6. Emerald Necklace Conservancy
7. [1]
8. Franklin Park Zoo
9. [2]
10. [3]
11. Franklin Park: Heart of Boston
12. William J. Devine Gold Course
13. Playhouse in the Park
14. Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Schoolmaster of Franklin Park (pdf format)
External links
★ Emerald Necklace Conservancy
★ Zoo New England
★ Franklin Park Coalition
★ Franklin Park history & details
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
Featured Companies
| Dancing Moon Travel | |
| Selloffvacations.com Oakville |
Newest Companies
Franklin Park, Boston Travel Deals
Franklin Park, Boston Features
 | Massachusetts delivers unique foodie experiences this fall |
