The Swan Boats are a fleet of pontoon pleasure boats which operate in a pond in the Public Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Swan Boats have been in operation since 1877, and have since become a cultural icon for the city. They operate beginning the second weekend of April and ending Labor Day weekend in September. [1]
Robert Paget first created the Swan Boats in the Public Garden in 1877, after seeing the opera Lohengrin with his wife Julia Paget. Inspired by the knight's gallant rescue of the damsel by riding a swan across the lake, Paget decided to capitalize on the recent popularity of the bicycle and combine the two, designing a two-pontooned boat with two wooden benches and a brass seat on top of a paddlebox concealed by a swan. The driver would sit inside the swan and pedal passengers around the pond.[ citation needed ]
Swan boats have since operated every year until 2020, when they stayed closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts. [2] They have returned to run each year since then, beginning in May, 2021. [3]
To this day, the design for the Swan Boat has changed very little. The boats have been periodically replaced throughout the years, and the current fleet operates with six boats. Each boat has kept the original design, with two pontoons, a brass seat atop a paddlebox concealed by a fiberglass swan, and wooden benches for passengers. However, more rows of benches have been added over the years. Five of the boats have six rows, each row holding about three to four adults, and the oldest boat has five rows, which seat two to three adults each. The boats range in age from roughly 30 to over 100 years old. The oldest boat in operation was built in 1910, [4] and the newest was built in 1992.
The Swan Boats operate in the same pond in the Public Garden in which they have operated for over 140 years. A Swan Boat ride is a peaceful experience, usually lasting about 12–15 minutes. Each boat is powered solely by a driver, often a high school or college student, who pedals the boat like a bicycle. The boats are steered by pulling one of two ropes connected to a series of pulleys and a rudder. The Swan Boats remain a Boston tradition and symbol of the city.
The Swan Boats are famed for their appearance in the stories of Make Way For Ducklings and The Trumpet of the Swan , and are often noted in tourist guides and other books about the city. [5] In 1954 service was interrupted during the summer for the first time, when city officials drained the lake after 30 ducks died due to an infection. [6]
The post-apocalyptic video game Fallout 4 included Swan Boats in its Boston Common location, where players can collect swan boat fragments and find other notable landmarks such as the Parkman Bandstand and the first marker of the Freedom Trail. [7]
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Transportation in Boston includes roadway, subway, regional rail, air, and sea options for passenger and freight transit in Boston, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates the Port of Boston, which includes a container shipping facility in South Boston, and Logan International Airport, in East Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates bus, subway, short-distance rail, and water ferry passenger services throughout the city and region. Amtrak operates passenger rail service to and from major Northeastern cities, and a major bus terminal at South Station is served by varied intercity bus companies. The city is bisected by major highways I-90 and I-93, the intersection of which has undergone a major renovation, nicknamed the Big Dig.
Human-powered transport is the transport of person(s) and/or goods (freight) using human muscle power. Unlike animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming, as well as small vehicles such as litters, rickshaws, wheelchairs and wheelbarrows. Modern technology has allowed mechanical advantage devices and machines to enhance human-power.
Acton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles (16 km) southwest of Lowell. The population was 24,021 in April 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau. It is bordered by Westford and Littleton to the north, Concord and Carlisle to the east, Stow, Maynard, and Sudbury to the south and Boxborough to the west. Acton became an incorporated town in 1735. The town employs the Open Town Meeting form of government with a town manager and an elected, five-member select board. Acton was named the 11th Best Place To Live among small towns in the country by Money Magazine in 2015, and the 16th best in 2009 and in 2011. The local high school, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009.
The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. 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 Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the 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 and Boston Common to the east, Beacon Street and Beacon Hill to the north, Arlington Street and Back Bay to the west, and Boylston Street to the south. The Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in America.
Make Way for Ducklings is an American children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941 by the Viking Press, the book centers on a pair of mallards who raise their brood of ducklings on an island in the lagoon in the Boston Public Garden. It won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for McCloskey's illustrations, executed in charcoal then lithographed on zinc plates. As of 2003, the book had sold over two million copies. The book's popularity led to the construction of a statue by Nancy Schön in the Public Garden of the mother duck and her eight ducklings, which is a popular destination for children and adults alike. In 1991, Barbara Bush gave a duplicate of this sculpture to Raisa Gorbacheva as part of the START Treaty, and the work is displayed in Moscow's Novodevichy Park.
Middlesex Fells Reservation, often referred to simply as the Fells, is a public recreation area covering more than 2,200 acres (890 ha) in Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester, Massachusetts, United States. The state park surrounds two inactive reservoirs, Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir, and the three active reservoirs that are part of the water supply system for the town of Winchester. Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir are part of the Wachusett water system, one of six primary water systems that feed metropolitan Boston's waterworks. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.
A pedalo, pedal boat, or paddle boat is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel.
A rowbike is an example of a rowing cycle, hybrid fitness/transport machine that combines a bicycle, and a rowing machine. "Rowbike" is a trademark of the Rowbike company. The Rowbike was invented by Scott Olson, the creator of Rollerblade inline skates. "Rowling" is a combination of rowing and rolling, and is sometimes used in place of rowing when describing a Rowbike.
A party bike, conference bike, pedal pub, fietscafé, bierfiets, beer bike or bar bike is a multi-passenger human powered vehicle that is powered by the passengers. Human-powered party bikes have grown into several families of vehicles for a variety of purposes, including tourist rentals and private touring.
The current incarnation of Rowes Wharf is a modern development in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is best known for the Boston Harbor Hotel's multi-story arch over the wide public plaza between Atlantic Avenue and the Boston Harbor waterfront. Along the waterfront can be found a marina, restaurants, a water transportation terminal, and a floating stage offering free concerts and movies during the summer.
The Skating Club of Boston is a not-for-profit figure skating club based in Norwood, Massachusetts. Founded in 1912, it is one of the oldest skating clubs in the United States, and a founding member of U.S. Figure Skating, the governing body for the sport in the United States. The Club's mission is to advance participation, education and excellence in skating for people of all ages, abilities and means. The Club has over 800 active members and offers a variety of programs for the public, reaching another 2,000 children and adults. The club built its own rink in Brighton, Massachusetts in 1938 and remained there until moving to the Norwood facility in 2020. In addition, in a public private partnership with the City of Boston's Parks & Recreation Department, the Club manages the programming and facilities for The Frog Pond located at Boston Common on a year-round basis.
The MIT Endicott House is a conference center located in Dedham, Massachusetts, about 10 miles (16 km) south-west from downtown Boston. The center consists of the Endicott mansion, a Normandy French-style chateau, along with an art lecture facility known as the Brooks Center, and 25 acres (100,000 m2) of gardens, lawn, woods and ponds. Since 1955, when it was given to Massachusetts Institute of Technology by the Endicott family, it has been owned and operated by MIT. It is one of the oldest such facilities in the United States. Endicott House serves as a meeting facility for many MIT departments and is the primary site of the Senior Executive Program of the MIT Sloan School of Management. The house also hosts conferences and meetings for other educational, medical, governmental, and nonprofit organizations.
Cutler Park is a state-owned nature preserve and public recreation area that lies between Route 128/I-95 and the Charles River in Needham, Massachusetts. The state park's 772 acres (312 ha) contain the largest remaining freshwater marsh on the middle Charles River. Parts of its major trail run directly through the marsh via boardwalks; over 100 species of birds have been sighted here. The park is part of a plan by the Town of Needham to connect 18 public areas by 35 proposed trails. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
A rowing cycle is a wheeled vehicle propelled by a rowing motion of the body. Steering, braking, and shifting are usually done by the handlebars. Feet are on symmetrical foot rests, as opposed to rotating pedals. Unlike many rowing boats, the rider faces forward. Rowing cycles exist in numerous designs, particularly with respect to frames and drive mechanisms. Commercial production numbers for rowing cycles are small compared to that of standard bicycles.
A quadracycle is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms.
A hydrocycle is a bicycle-like watercraft. The concept was known in the 1870s as a water velocipede and the name was in use by the late 1890s.
Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled only by human power, instead of being propelled by wind power or an engine.
The Sterling Camp Meeting Grounds, also known at the Worcester Methodist District Camp was a Methodist camp ground founded in 1852 that was located south of the East and West Waushacum Ponds and two miles south of Sterling, Massachusetts. The 14-mile Fitchburg and Worcester Rail Line brought visitors to Sterling Junction, which was a short walk to the Sterling Camp Meeting Grounds. The Boston and Maine Railroad brought people from Boston, Lowell, and Cambridge for the one week to 10-day retreats. More than 1,000 people attended the summer revivals from all over the state of Massachusetts. The site had a number of amenities for lodging, meals, and services.
