History
The square was first constructed in the mid-19th century to attract a growing wealthy merchant class. The park was once the largest garden square in the South End. It originally included a very large white, three tiered fountain with a seating area and numerous trees, flowers, and other gardens. It fell into decline shortly after the start of the 20th century, as wealthy residents moved to the Back Bay and a growing immigrant class moved in. The grand Victorian townhouses were gradually divided up and converted into smaller units, public buildings, and rooming houses. The park suffered its most devastating change in the 1950s when City and State officials decided to run Massachusetts Avenue directly through the park, dividing the square in half.
Read more about this topic: Chester Square (Boston)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Spain is an overflow of sombreness ... a strong and threatening tide of history meets you at the frontier.”
—Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
“It is the true office of history to represent the events themselves, together with the counsels, and to leave the observations and conclusions thereupon to the liberty and faculty of every man’s judgement.”
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626)
“The custard is setting; meanwhile
I not only have my own history to worry about
But am forced to fret over insufficient details related to large
Unfinished concepts that can never bring themselves to the point
Of being, with or without my help, if any were forthcoming.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)