The Emerald Necklace

It took civic visionary Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903) almost twenty years (1878-1896) to create the six parks and waterways now known as the Emerald Necklace. The Arnold Arboretum, Back Bay Fens, Franklin Park, Jamaica Pond, Olmsted Park, and the Riverway stretch five miles from the Charles River to Dorchester and make up over 1,000 acres of parkland.

The Necklace comprises half of the City of Boston's park acreage, parkland in the Town of Brookline, and parkways and park edges under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. More than 300,000 people live within its watershed area.

The Emerald Necklace is the only remaining intact linear park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., America's first landscape architect. As such, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Green and open spaces, rivers and ponds, and a wealth and diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, wildlife habitat, riparian life, bridges and other structures make up this urban jewel.

NEW Emerald Necklace System Map

Emerald Necklace Historic Map