We are very excited to announce that on Tuesday, April 7th, we submitted a petition to the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) seeking "landmark" status for the Prouty Garden.
The BLC is the municipal preservation agency for Boston's historic buildings, places, and neighborhoods. Its primary mission is to protect the beauty of the city of Boston and improve the quality of its environment through identification, recognition, conservation, maintenance and enhancement of areas, sites, structures and fixtures which constitute or reflect distinctive features of the political, economic, social, cultural or architectural history of the city.
There are more than 8,000 properties designated as individual Boston Landmarks and we feel strongly that the Prouty Garden should be one of them in light of its historical and cultural significance. Not only was the garden an endowment from a notable Boston author and poet (read more about Olive Higgins Prouty here), it was designed by the Olmsted Brothers, a firm owned by Frederick Law Olmsted’s sons who carried on the design traditions of their father and is listed on the National Register of Olmsted Parks. It has also served as a model for the development of healing gardens across the country.
But the Prouty Garden's significance goes far beyond its origins. It is also historically significant due to the events that have taken place there. We believe the Prouty Garden represents a living landmark, capable of continuing to have an important impact on people, just as it has had in the past. Living landmarks transcend the constraints of history because their significance and power continues to grow over time.
The next step in this process is to be granted "pending designation," which means that the 13 members of the Commission vote that the Garden is worthy of being "landmarked," following a hearing to be held on April 28th. In the meantime, please continue showing your support by:
-Driving signatures of the Change.org petition (get all your friends and family to sign too!),
-Sending us your Garden stories and accounts of why the Prouty Garden is so important to you to saveprouty (at) gmail (dot) com,
-Signing up for our mailing list so we can send you updates and contact our supporters, and finally,
-Following us on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to share our posts with your network to help spread awareness!
p.s. There's just one other privately-owned open space in the City of Boston that is Landmarked, and that is Fenway Park!