Friends, we have some very exciting news to share. On Tuesday, April 28th the Boston Landmarks Commission will hold a preliminary hearing to determine whether or not our petition deserves further study.
This is the very first step toward getting the Prouty Garden designated as a Boston landmark.
From the BLC: "The purpose of this preliminary hearing is to provide petitioners with an opportunity to present to the Commission why the subject property should be designated. Following the preliminary hearing, the Commission will vote on whether or not to accept the petition for further study."
This is where YOU come in!
EVERYONE: Please consider writing to the BLC prior to the hearing telling them why YOU think the Prouty Garden should be designated as a Boston landmark. Every single letter matters and will be counted. You can write via email or send a hard copy letter. But time is of the essence so please consider writing right away (details and key points below).
IF YOU LIVE IN BOSTON (or can get here): We want to show the physical presence of as many supporters as possible in person at the hearing. If you are available to come to the hearing on 4/28 at 5:45 p.m. in City Hall, please write to us at saveprouty@gmail.com so we can give you more information and have a sense of how many supporters may be attending.
We cannot stress enough that this may be our only and best chance to save the Prouty Garden from demolition. If you or someone you care about has been affected by the Garden in any way, we need you NOW.
As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please reach out to us! We love to connect with our supporters.
HOW TO CONTACT THE BOSTON LANDMARKS COMMISSION:
BOSTON LANDMARKS COMMISSION
1 CITY HALL SQUARE
ROOM 709
BOSTON, MA 02201
KEY POINTS
When drafting your letters, refer to the following key points, if you wish, designed to help you better understand our position. Please feel free to draw from personal experience though, if you have it, and write what you like. Regardless of personal experience with the hospital, I think we all are grateful for the high level of care that is available to us there, should we ever need it.
+Boston Children’s Hospital plans to demolish the culturally and historically significant Prouty Garden to make room for a new clinical building. We patients, families, staff, and community members fully support the need for a new clinical building, but an alternate location/plan must be found. We believe this to be possible because of the myriad of other plans that were presented at the start of this project, plans which should be revisited or re-imagined.
+It is for the following reasons that we are recommending the Prouty Garden be given landmark status by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
+The Prouty Garden has both historical and cultural significance to the city of Boston, and to the state of Massachusetts, as a world-renowned healthcare destination.
+In 1956, Mrs. Olive Prouty, a well-known author, made a gift of the Prouty Garden in memory of her two daughters, Anne and Olivia, who had died in childhood. The Prouty Garden was designed by the legendary Olmsted Brothers, and at Mrs. Prouty’s direction, was modeled from the terrace and garden in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
+In 1957 The Massachusetts Horticultural Society awarded their Gold Medal to the Prouty Garden. The garden has been a leading example in the development of healing gardens in the latter half of the 20th century. Clare Cooper Marcus, a leading authority on the subject, has written that the Prouty is “one of the most successful hospital gardens in the country.” (Scientific American, March 2012)
+With its more than half acre of winding pathways, swaths of grass, secluded nooks and charismatic, hidden statues, the Prouty stands out as a virtually unparalleled leader in healing gardens. Birds and bunnies that delight children, fresh air, and a towering 60 foot dawn redwood tree allow children, families and staff to be a part of nature, right there in the middle of the concrete jungle that is the Longwood medical area.
+For almost 60 years this Garden has provided comfort and healing to children, their families and their caregivers. Even when facing death, patients will ask to be brought to the Garden where they may take their last breath, and at least one family has scattered their beloved child's ashes in the Garden.
+In 2012, a petition was opened on Change.org to preserve the Prouty Garden. On this petition there are now 10,093 signatures from every U.S. state and many countries, along with 250 pages of comments. This response shows how many people value the Prouty Garden, and what an important place it has in Boston. Mrs. Prouty intended to have "this Garden continue to exist as long as Children's Hospital has patients, families and staff to enjoy it” – an affirmation that has greeted visitors to the Garden on a plaque at its entrance for decades. It is for these reasons that we are recommending this action to give the Prouty Garden "landmark" status.