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Muddy Rivers Link |
 While working on the Fens in
1879-1880, Olmsted began to envision the possibility of creating a continuous park though
the city. He could do this by continuing a strip of parkland up the valley of the Muddy
River, one of the two streams emptying into Back Bay. The strip would connect the Fens
with Jamaica Pond, one of the park sites that he had previously recommended. The park
commissioners realized the value of Olmsted's plan, but it wasn't until ten years later
that construction began on this vital piece of the seven mile "emerald
necklace."
 The grading of
the banks for the Muddy River improvement began in 1890. The delay was caused in part by
the fact that the town of Brookline had to concur in the purchase of land for the project
because the boundary between the two municipalities ran largely along the middle of the
stream. To ensure the success of the emerald necklace concept this connecting link between
the Back Bay and the Jamaica Pond had to be completed. Eventually, an agreement was worked
out and the "green fingers" project, an attempt a to interlace an essentially
urban complex with park-like corridors of the surrounding countryside, became widely
admired. |
| For more information: Boston's
Emerald Necklace |
Zaitzevsky,
Cynthia. Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Park System. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard
University Press, 1982. |
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