Last updated: June 5, 2024
Place
Charlesbank
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Located along Boston’s Esplanade, Charlesbank Park allowed Frederick Law Olmsted to design the first open air gymnasium and exercise facility of its kind in a public park. Olmsted’s move to Brookline in 1883 allowed him to design the park four years later. A waterside park, Charlesbank acted as the Beacon Street entrance to Olmsted’s Back Bay Fens.
Working with fitness pioneer Dudley A. Sargent, Olmsted created a linear park with features like a promenade, boat landings, running track, trapezes, swinging rings, jumping and pole vaulting, shot putting, and more, separated by gender and age. Olmsted requested that Boston Park Commissioners provide equipment, maintenance, and instruction to the community, free of charge.
While Olmsted supported facilities for exercise, he favored parks that encouraged individual sports, not team ones. That is why Charlesbank didn’t include a baseball diamond or football field. Opening in 1889, Olmsted’s original plan would get a redesign in 1910 after the construction of the dam, by Olmsted firm member Arthur Shurcliff. Due to increased vehicular traffic, most of Olmsted's design was removed in the 1930s.
Source: "Charlesbank," Olmsted Online
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Working with fitness pioneer Dudley A. Sargent, Olmsted created a linear park with features like a promenade, boat landings, running track, trapezes, swinging rings, jumping and pole vaulting, shot putting, and more, separated by gender and age. Olmsted requested that Boston Park Commissioners provide equipment, maintenance, and instruction to the community, free of charge.
While Olmsted supported facilities for exercise, he favored parks that encouraged individual sports, not team ones. That is why Charlesbank didn’t include a baseball diamond or football field. Opening in 1889, Olmsted’s original plan would get a redesign in 1910 after the construction of the dam, by Olmsted firm member Arthur Shurcliff. Due to increased vehicular traffic, most of Olmsted's design was removed in the 1930s.
Source: "Charlesbank," Olmsted Online
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr