Commonwealth Avenue

Originally designed by Arthur Gillman in the 1850s, Frederick Law Olmsted first became involved with Commonwealth Avenue in late 1879. Helping to prepare a plan for plantings along the then 32-acre Mall with Charles Sprague Sargent, he recommended “that it be entirely replaced from Arlington Street to West Chester Park” and that “instead of the double row of trees now used a single row be planted on each side of the central walk” with European elms. [Frederick Law Olmsted to Charles Dalton_1880-11-29_LOC-OAR-B_00944-im.7]. Plans in 1884 (00944-z1) indicate he was called on to continue the firm’s work on the avenue and incorporate it into his Boston Park System design. Extending the avenue to the suburbs, his scheme lengthened the western end of the road from Brighton Avenue to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. In order to unify the city’s parks, he connected Commonwealth Avenue to Huntington Avenue (00951-H) and Beacon Street (see 01172 and plan 01172-37-sh1). This area was later redesigned by the city.

In 1907 F.L. Olmsted Jr weighed in on the on-going controversy about the preferred tree planting along the original section of Commonwealth Avenue, as reflected in the extensive correspondence, reports and testimony. By 1967 the Olmsted Associates were involved again with Beacon Street, see Beacon Street Tree Planting (10201).