Marine Park

Marine Park. South Boston. , With Boston's population growing rapidly in the 1870s, new parks were proposed for every neighborhood. Here, at the tip of South Boston, landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted transformed mud flats and marshlands into Marine Park as part of his Emerald Necklace., The Head House was the park's centerpiece. Besides changing rooms for beachgoers, it had two cafes, an ice cream parlor and a large restaurant where German bands played on weekends. "My mother said they'd go on Sunday afternoons and sing along," a long-time South Boston resident remembered., Steamboats shuttled passengers from a public dock nearby to Castle Island, before its connection to the mainland. The crossing took seven minutes. The stonework of the pier is still visible along the beach to the right., South Boston historian Thomas O'Connor wrote: "Thousands of families from all over the Boston area travelled to Marine Park in open-air trolleys... They would come loaded with blankets, bathing suits and huge box lunches." One hot weekend in 1910 brought 150,000 visitors., (Caption, Top) , The magnificent half-timbered Head House was designed by Boston City Architect Edmund Marsh Wheelwright to look like a medieval German town hall. Opened in 1896, this City-owned property fell into neglect during the Great Depression. Fire caused extensive damage in 1942 and it was demolished soon after. ~Courtesy of the Library of Congress, (Caption, bottom images left to right) , A public dock became known as Kelly's Landing after an eatery famous for its friend clams that operated there from 1927 to 1974. "It was a landmark," recalled one old-timer. "Everybody would say, 'Meet me at Kelly's'", As the popularity of Marine Park and Pleasure Bay grew, so did the number of drownings, mainly from boating accidents. A floating lifesaving station with a rescue boat hung at its stern was commissioned in 1896 and anchored in Dorchester Bay. It remained in service until World War II., The Boston Aquarium stood behind the ice rink from 1912 until 1954. "I was enthralled by the seals swimming in a large pool under the dome," recalls one visitor. ~Postcards courtesy of Jim Sullivan, Postcard History of South Boston , Poster courtesy of the Boston Athenaeum.