At the outset of 2020, the Friends kick off our 50th Anniversary with a community breakfast. After a half-century working together on a handshake, the Friends and the City of Boston sign a formal cooperation agreement to enhance the care of Common, the Garden, and the Mall.
More than 1,250 local residents hit the rink at the Frog Pond for Free Skating with Friends. Tickets, skate rentals, and cookies are provided free of charge for this all-day event. Lines remain long well into the evening.
As the number of Coronavirus cases rise, Boston and the Commonwealth go into lockdown. The Friends office closes, and the staff begins working remotely. The parks and surrounding neighborhoods resemble a ghost town as residents hunker down for what many think will be only a few weeks.
Boston begins to adapt to life in a pandemic. The parks see increased activity as families and individuals embrace greenspace while adjusting to wearing masks and social distancing. The City and Friends install signage throughout the parks, encouraging users to follow CDC guidelines and social distancing protocols. The tulips begin to bloom.(Photo by Jack Cohen)
Duckling Day goes virtual, with a special message from Mayor Marty Walsh and WCVB's Rhondella Richardsons's live reading of Make Way for Ducklings. Meanwhile, the Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial Restoration project proceeds at full speed in real life. Interpretive signage is installed around the site, designed to be a museum without walls.
The issues of racism and violence against the Black community take center stage on the Common as the city and the nation grapple with the death of George Floyd. In the aftermath of the protests, a number of monuments are damaged, but the Friends and the city's Graffiti Busters work quickly, with help from many in the community, to restore the park and sculptures. The Friends publish a statement of solidarity.
Summer weather brings many (masked) residents and visitors to all three parks. Making History @ Home provides a virtual take on our traditional program for Boston schoolchildren, bringing the history of the parks and the city to families via free online resources and video content. Liz Vizza's op-ed on the significance of monuments is published in The Boston Globe.
The Friends celebrates its 50th birthday. The Partnership to Renew the Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial hosts the first virtual Community Conversation, with more than 1,000 individuals joining in on Zoom and Facebook. The memorial's bronze relief is dramatically hoisted and removed from the restoration site, headed for conservation in Woburn. After water quality issues, the Public Garden lagoon is drained and refilled. Liz Vizza is elevated to president of the Friends.
The winning photographs from the 50th Anniversary Instagram Contest go up around the three parks, with 10 stunning images featured on banners stretching from the Kenmore block of Commonwealth Ave to the Common. A virtual BioBlitz continues. The Friends win the Olmstead Preservation Award, recognizing organizations dedicated to the preservation and promotion of cultural landscapes.
Voting Rights is the topic for the second Community Conversation. The Commonwealth Avenue Mall gets a fresh coat of lime. The Friends host a virtual Members Reception and the public input phase of the Boston Common Master Plan begins. Fall colors come alive, turning the parks into a spectacle of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens.
A rare early snowfall drops nearly a foot of snow, creating unusual scenes of autumnal greens, reds, and oranges coated in white. Our Colors of the Season is published, offering an interactive year-round look at nine different Public Garden flora. The findings of the first round of the public input phase of the Boston Common Master Plan are released.
Festive holiday lights are installed throughout the parks. Boston's official Christmas tree arrives on the Common from Nova Scotia, with extra precautions taken to continue this annual tradition during COVID-19. The Commonwealth Avenue Mall statue lighting continues, with design work beginning for the Sarmiento statue.