Park Square in
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, is bounded by Stuart,
Charles Street South,
Boylston, and Arlington Streets.
Description
Park Square is the home of the Boston
Four Seasons Hotel
Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is a Canadian luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.David Se ...
, the
Boston Park Plaza
The Hilton Boston Park Plaza is a historic hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, opened on March 10, 1927. It was built by hotelier E.M. Statler as part of his Statler Hotels chain. A prototype of the grand American hotel, it was calle ...
, and nearly a dozen restaurants. To the north across Boylston Street is the
Boston Public Garden
The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the Downtown Boston, heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common. It is a part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks and is bounded by Charles Street (Bos ...
. To the east is the
Washington Street Theatre District. The
Bay Village neighborhood is to the south, and
Back Bay
Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...
is to the west.
At one time, the terminus of the
Boston and Providence Railroad was in the square; however, after
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan I ...
opened, the terminal was closed.
The
Emancipation Memorial
The Emancipation Memorial, also known as the Freedman's Memorial or the Emancipation Group is a monument in Lincoln Park (Washington, D.C.), Lincoln Park in the Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It wa ...
, commemorating the
emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...
of American slaves, was installed in Park Square in 1879 and removed in December 2020.
A small street in the district was renamed "Park
Plaice
Plaice is a common name for a group of flatfish that comprises four species: the European, American, Alaskan and scale-eye plaice.
Commercially, the most important plaice is the European. The principal commercial flatfish in Europe, it is ...
" (plaice being a type of
flatfish
A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish Order (biology), suborder Pleuronectoidei, also called the Heterosomata. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around ...
) in honor of
Legal Sea Foods, a local restaurant.
Education
Boston Public Schools
Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts.
Leadership
The district is led by a superintendent, hired by t ...
operates area district public schools.
Boston Renaissance Charter Public School was formerly located in a building in Park Square.
In 2010, it moved to
Hyde Park.
[New - About]
." Boston Renaissance Charter Public School. Retrieved on April 20, 2017.
From 1964 to 1974, the
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...
campus was located in Park Square.
Image gallery
File:1837 ParkSquare Boston LOC030074v.jpg, Railroad depot at Park Square in 1837, with the State House in the background, the tidal Charles River basin in the foreground
Image:1850 ParkSquare BirdsEyeView Boston byJohnBachmann.png, Overview of Park Square, 1850
Image:Park square, by John B. Heywood.jpg, Stereoscopic
Stereoscopy, also called stereoscopics or stereo imaging, is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
view of Park Square and train station, from Boston Common, 19th century
Lincoln Statue, Park Square, Boston, Mass (NYPL b12647398-69513).tiff, Emancipation Memorial
The Emancipation Memorial, also known as the Freedman's Memorial or the Emancipation Group is a monument in Lincoln Park (Washington, D.C.), Lincoln Park in the Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It wa ...
, on display 1879–2020
Image:Waiting room of the Boston and Providence Railroad terminal, circa 1875.jpg, Interior of Boston & Providence Rail Road depot, 19th century
File:1902 ColoredAmericanMagazine office ParkSq Bosto interior 1 (cropped).jpg, Office of the ''Colored American Magazine
''The Colored American Magazine'' was the first monthly publication in the United States that covered African-American culture. It ran from May 1900 to November 1909 and had a peak circulation of 17,000. The magazine was initially published out ...
'', 1902
Image:ClarenceBlackall theatre6 Boston AmericanArchitect March1915.png, Cort Theatre, Park Square, c. 1915
File:Boston Park Plaza Hotel.jpg, Boston Park Plaza
The Hilton Boston Park Plaza is a historic hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, opened on March 10, 1927. It was built by hotelier E.M. Statler as part of his Statler Hotels chain. A prototype of the grand American hotel, it was calle ...
and the former headquarters of the Boston Gas Company, 2009
See also
*
Park Square Theatre, Boston (1915–1921)
*
Boston Theater District
The Boston Theater District is the center of Boston's theater scene. Many of its theaters are on Washington Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, and Huntington Avenue.
History
Plays were banned in Boston by the Puritans until 1792. Bost ...
*
Combat Zone, Boston
"Combat Zone" was the name given in the 1960s to the adult entertainment district in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Centered on Washington Street (Boston), Washington Street between Boylston Street and Kneeland Street, the area was once the s ...
References
External links
Google news archive Articles about Park Square.
The Evolution of Park SquarePicture: "Pre-war New England Greyhound PDG-3701 backed in the old Park Square Greyhound Terminal in Boston."Picture: "A shot of an Almeida Aerocoach loading at their terminal just a few doors away."Picture: "The picture of the MacKenzie Line Beck loading shows the Greyhound Terminal off to the right."
{{coord, 42.3516, N, 71.0684, W, type:landmark_scale:2500, display=title
Squares in Boston
Boston Theater District
Back Bay, Boston