Boston Common
Photo: Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Boston Common

Boston Common is a district in Boston, Massachusetts, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 27, 1987.

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Access
Access information not verified
Last checked October 31, 2026
Location
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts

National Register listing does not mean a place is open to the public. Parking and accessibility are shown only when verified.

History

The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common covers 50 acres (20 ha) bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street.

The Common is part of the Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways that extend south to Franklin Park in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester. Immediately to the west is Boston Public Garden. The visitor center for the city of Boston is located on the Tremont Street side of the park.

The Central Burying Ground is on the Boylston Street side of Boston Common and contains the graves of artist Gilbert Stuart and composer William Billings. Also buried there are Samuel Sprague and his son, Charles Sprague, one of America's earliest poets. Samuel Sprague was a participant in the Boston Tea Party and fought in the Revolutionary War. The Common was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1977.

The Common is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons."

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The official nomination form is linked under Sources.

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Sources