| Boston Common | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Boston Common in Downtown Boston in June 2017 | |
 | |
| Type | Public park |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Area | 50 acres (200,000 m2)[1] |
| Opened | 1634 |
| Designer | Multiple, including Augustus St. Gaudens |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000144 (original) 87000760 (new) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 12, 1972 (original, in NRHP also including Boston Public Garden) February 27, 1987 (new, in NHL of Boston Common alone)[2] |
| Designated NHLD | February 27, 1987[3] |
The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States.[4] Boston Common consists of 50 acres (20 ha) of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street.
The Common is part of the Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways that extend from the Common south to Franklin Park in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester. The visitors' center for the city of Boston is located on the Tremont Street side of the park.
The Central Burying Ground is on the Boylston Street side of Boston Common and contains the graves of artist Gilbert Stuart and composer William Billings. Also buried there are Samuel Sprague and his son Charles Sprague, one of America's earliest poets. Samuel Sprague was a participant in the Boston Tea Party and fought in the Revolutionary War. The Common was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1977.[5]
The Common is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons".[6][7]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nrhpinv2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Boston Common". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
- ^ "Boston Common". CelebrateBoston.com. 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ City of Boston. "Boston Common Study Report, Boston Landmarks Commission" (PDF).
- ^ "Boston Common". City of Boston. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
- ^ "Place Names: Boston English". Adam Gaffin and by content posters. Retrieved November 9, 2011.