Edward Winslow Lincoln Gate (1905)

The fieldstone gate and benches at the Russell Street side of the park were erected to honor parks commissioner Edward Winslow Lincoln.

Taking office in 1870, just 8 years after such a committee was formed, he presided over the development of Elm Park and the Common. He served until his death in 1896, one of the true urban aristocrats who made public service their profession.

Chamberlain Fountain
(Andrew O'Connor, Sr., 1915)

Once the central feature of Washington Square, the sculpture was commissioned as a watering trough for horses. One generation after being placed in the busy square near Union Station, children had no idea what purpose the deep holes were for. Lamented for more than ten years as a hazard to automobile traffic, the entire fountain was removed to Elm Park in 1956.

O'Connor was a stone carver and sculptor end kept a studio on Webster Street and later in Holden. His son Andrew O'Connor, Jr. was also a sculptor and created the Beaux Arts soldier 1898 at Wheaten Square.

Harriet Horgan Memorial Bridge and the Iron Bridge

Bridges over the meres have been an important feature of the park since 1877, when the first cedar bridge was built. The two bridges that exist today are close replicas of earlier bridges. The Iron Bridge (actually steel) was recreated in 1972 from plans and photographs of the 1881 original, which was designed by Henry Edwards. The wooden bridge dates to 1970, and it too is based on an earlier original.

The light and airy bridges are fanciful and practical -- the steep slopes serve the useful purpose of allowing skaters to pass from one pond to another.

They are also a romantic and interesting backdrop for wedding ceremonies and special family photographs.

Heron Statue
(ca. 1882)

At the posting of this web site, the original Heron is in storage, safe but not especially sound after some rather exciting events in its senior years. In need of restoration (actually major surgery) the six-foot statue will one day be placed in a future parks department historical display. The "Japanese bronze" bird is a larger-than-life casting of a great blue heron finely detailed with individual feathers and markings on the bill and legs.

In 1884, Park Commissioner, Charles H. Davis gave the brass sculpture to Elm Park, where it resided peaceably enough until 1959 when it was stolen. Returned and repaired it was stolen again in 1963, and again returned and repaired. In 1965 it was removed due to low water conditions and placed in storage.

A replica of the heron was sculpted by Port Townsend, Washington sculptor Paco Mitchell. The finished piece, named "Ardea" (named after the Latin term Ardea Herodius, the Great Blue Heron) by the sculptor was purchased and offered to the City by an anonymous donor. Ardea currently resides in the shallow mere of Elm Park during the summer months. It is placed in storage during the winter to avoid vandalism that is imminent by vandals who can walk the ponds once frozen over.

* Truthfully, the statue may actually be a whooping crane. Parks (Commissioner Edward Winslow Lincoln may have known this, but kept quiet out of deference to the donor. He wrote, "... the Commission have been presented ... with an elegant representation, in Japanese bronze, of what they assume to be Ardea Herodia, the Great Blue Heron;" (emphasis added).

Rogers - Kennedy Memorial
(Maurice Sterne, 1929)

The sculpture features a larger-than-life man and woman walking alongside their plow, the universal symbol for an agricultural lift. They are sturdy, thoughtful, purposeful, rich with potential. The deep stone reliefs of the base are ever changing dramas in light and shadow, joy and toil. Men, women, and children take their places as hewers of wood, sowers of grain, harvesters of crops, gatherers of fish, builders of boats, nurturers of children, readers of books, and givers of thanks. Their values are intimately related to work and family. Their activities are more important than any material possession.

The modernist sculpture is the work of Maurice Sterne, an internationally acclaimed sculptor who was selected in 1926 from among ten entries. The memorial was made possible by a bequest of Ellen Rogers Kennedy and her spouse. The $80,000 available made the artwork the most costly ever proposed for the city. It created quite a controversy among local art patrons and critics who lambasted the artist, his birthplace, the subject matter, and most of all, his modern style. After its unveiling in 1929, international art critics praised the work and wished it were in some more prominent city, in some more worldly place.

Created of Italian Trani limestone, the material has deteriorated over the years and a major effort to preserve and restore the stone pedestal was underway, projected for completion in 1987. The Olmsted Brothers, who were consultants to city parks from 1910 to 1945, helped with the site plan and some of their original suggestions guided the landscaping. Unfortunately, the restoration contractor defaulted and the Memorial has been in storage since that time. The Parks Department hopes to settle this issue and a new contractor should be named by spring of 1998.

Newton Square Honor Roll
(1947)

Sponsored by a neighborhood group after World War II, four bronze plaques set in a quarry stone and-granite monument list 200 names of soldiers from the area who served between 1941 and 1946.

At one time there were about 30 honor rolls in the city. Of these, ten survive, all in better condition than the one at Newton Square, but the ornamentation of this one makes it one of the more significant ones in the city.

Chic Sherry Tennis Courts

The granite ballard and bronze plaque here memorialize a man who devoted many years to recreational youth programs. Two of the tennis courts at this corner of Elm Park date to 1910.

While you are in the neighborhood, you might notice veterans square memorials: At the corner of Park and Highland is Danker Square and back at Russell Street is Espas Square, named not for one individual, but for three.