About the Emerald Necklace

Boston’s park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles Eliot, John Charles and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. between 1878 and 1896. Later coined the Emerald Necklace, this 7-mile-long chain of parks, parkways and waterways includes the Back Bay Fens (and Charlesgate Park), the Riverway, Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park. With 7 parks and 4 parkways, the system spans over 1,000 acres and accounts for half of the City of Boston’s park acreage.  

The Emerald Necklace is one of the nation’s earliest examples of green infrastructure— using organic materials such as stone, earth and plants to help absorb water and filter pollutants. This innovative, interconnected system of waterways and parkland not only improved the sanitation of a rapidly-expanding Boston but also formed a linked series of parks, allowing residents to enjoy a once-polluted and unwelcoming part of their city.  

While the size and scope of the completed system is impressive, Olmsted originally planned for an even greater park system with three additional areas. The Greeting section of Franklin Park, also known as Ante-Park, was eliminated due to financial constraints. The Strandway, meant to provide greater connectivity and link Franklin Park to Marine Park, was abandoned when park commissioners could not acquire the necessary land. Lastly, the proposed muster ground, which would have provided recreation space for the South Bay, was too swampy.  

In 1971, the Necklace was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Olmsted Park System. The Fens and Franklin Park are also recognized as Boston Landmarks. 

Decades later, the 1996 flood of the Muddy River, brought on by 20th-century neglect of the landscapes, resulted in the creation of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy to protect, restore, maintain and promote the park system. Today, they remain a faithful steward of the system and the neighborhoods it serves.  

The Muddy River Restoration Project, which ran from 2014-2023, also stewarded the landscape, helping to daylit culverted sections of the river, widen the stream to its original size and remove invasive species from the waterway.