Emerald Necklace

park system, Massachusetts, United States

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Last updated

July 20, 2026

Quick Summary

The Emerald Necklace is a renowned park system in Boston, Massachusetts, designed by American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. This system connects several Boston parks, including the Boston Common and Public Garden, with Franklin Park to the south.12

Olmsted envisioned a series of parks linked by parkways, incorporating natural elements like woods and meadows. The Emerald Necklace includes the Arnold Arboretum, a botanical research center affiliated with Harvard University. The park system was developed in the late 19th century as Boston expanded, transforming urban landscapes and providing green spaces for the growing city.123

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Boston
The Emerald Necklace
When the Back Bay was nearing completion during the 1880s, the American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted developed an imaginative large-scale design for the city’s parks. It linked the common, the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue with Franklin Park south of Roxbury by…
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When the Back Bay was nearing completion during the 1880s, the American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted developed an imaginative large-scale design for the city’s parks. It linked the common, the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue with Franklin Park south of Roxbury by…
Read More