Discovering Premier Seating on Boston Common

Posted on the 11 August 2014 by Fopg @fopg


Summer days are lively on Boston Common, and the Clover Food Lab truck regularly attracts dozens of lunchtime diners to Brewer Fountain Plaza. Soothing sounds of trickling droplets of fountain water blend with piano music, performed by Berklee College of Music students, to create a seasonal backdrop worth savoring.

Securing a shaded table and chair under an umbrella, there temporarily for day use, is a fortunate find as the lunchtime crowd settles in, yet few know that the truly premiere seating is actually located a few feet away on the perimeter of the granite plaza. The inside track on the 10 benches, so-called “seats of honor,” is that they, and the nearby benches on the Liberty Mall path, are part of a select set of Boston Common benches available for permanent sponsorship. There is no term limit on sponsorship. Each bench has a plaque that identifies its sponsor or a person being celebrated in some way.

As the $4 million restoration of Brewer Fountain Plaza comes to a conclusion this fall, a time capsule will be buried that includes names of all donors of this project. The deadline for donations to be included in the time capsule that will be buried to commemorate this project is Monday, September 15th. There is only one bench in the “seats of honor” area available for sponsorship, and three on the Liberty Mall path.

Sponsoring a bench not only supports the care and maintenance of America’s first public park, it is a way to have a dedicated seat there 365 days a year, even if it is in name only. For information on sponsoring these last available locations, please call 617-723-8144 or email mary@friendsofthepublicgarden.org.