Charlesbank

Charlesbank Park, located along the Esplanade, was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1880’s. Acting as the Beacon Street public entrance to the Back Bay Fens (00916), Olmsted planned a waterside park. Olmsted constructed a seawall between the embankment and river and designed a linear promenade to run along the northern edge of the 40-acre park.

Charlesbank’s was the first public space in the country to prioritize open-air athletic facilities and gymnasium access. Olmsted worked with fitness pioneer Dudley A Sargent, and requested that the Park Commissioners provide equipment, maintenance, and instruction to the community free of charge. Following the construction of a dam in 1910, landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff redesigned the parkland with money donated by the Sturrow family. Much of Olmsted’s design was removed in the 1930’s due to increased vehicular traffic.