Emerald Necklace

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

Several dedicated parks organizations, including the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Friends of the Public Garden, the Franklin Park Coalition, and the Arboretum Park Conservancy, were created to protect, maintain, restore and advocate for the Emerald Necklace parks

From Boston Common to Franklin Park it is approximately seven miles by foot or bicycle through the parks

This linear system of parks was designed by Olmsted to connect Boston Common, dating from the colonial period, and Public Garden to Franklin Park, known as the "great country park."

The project began around 1878 with the effort to clean up and control the marshy area which became the Back Bay and The Fens

In 1880, Olmsted proposed that the Muddy River, which flowed from Jamaica Pond through the Fens, be included in the park plan