Walking Tour of Parkside

As the big finale to our 30th season of historic walking tours, we are offering a special tour of Parkside. This area of Jamaica Plain hugs Franklin Park. In the early 19th century the area was dominated by huge estates including that of the popular children’s story writer, Peter Parley. After the Civil War, Parkside began to be sub-divided into smaller (yet still large by Boston standards) home sites for the new emerging middle class. Development was heavily influenced by the rocky terrain — which made only low density development practical. But the draw of the proximity to the new Franklin Park, Boston’s largest public green space, made the efforts worth it. In the 20th century, most of the remaining estates were broken up or adapted for institutional or multi-resident buildings.

This tour will feature a group of Parkside residents who were connected to the Transcendentalist movement, including Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Freeman Clarke and Ednah Dow Cheney. And there will be some surprises, such as Jamaica Plain’s own amusement park and the home of a lifelong Communist/labor organizer who was repeatedly threatened with imprisonment or deportation but never was.

This tour will last approximately 75 minutes. No reservations are required just meet the guides at the starting location. The tour will be cancelled in the case of heavy rain.