From Desolation of Pandemic Times to Rebirth of Iconic Swan Boats
By Caryn Coyle
Along the lagoon at Boston Public Garden
Photo by Kim Coyle Sampson
In the nation’s oldest botanic garden, swan boats are immediately recognizable as a symbol of Boston. My first visit to the Boston Public Garden to ride on a swan boat is captured in a black and white photo taken in the 1950s. A towhead, I stand beside my older sister in front of the dock that leads to the boats. We wear light, summer dresses and cardigans, short, white socks and maryjanes. We are both smiling in anticipation.
Since then, I have enjoyed several boat rides along the lagoon in Boston’s Public Garden on gorgeous summer afternoons. The swan boats have been in use for almost 150 years. Established by Robert Paget in 1877, the boats are still operated by the same mechanism he created; a paddle wheel powered by foot under a swam “cover.” The boats are driven primarily by college or high school students around the lagoon from Patriots’ Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
But no swan boats moved over the lagoon on Patriots’ Day weekend in 2020. The season had been cancelled. There was no Boston Marathon, either. The pandemic had changed life completely, starting with the cancellation of the Saint Patrick’s Day parade.
But the Gardens were open. In April, tulips bloomed in deep pink along the pathways by the bridge over the lagoon. The bronze statue of George Washington, in his three cornered hat, his sword at his side, sitting on his horse atop the plinth, was surrounded by red tulips. The grass was turning green and the tree branches held pale blurs of new growth.
If I couldn’t ride on a swan boat, I did savor the springtime beauty that our historic city offers. The lagoon was still there with the ducks who swim on it, surrounded by tulips and the Boston skyline. I walked on the ornate bridge, built a decade before Robert Paget fashioned his unique swan-covered foot pedal. The Lagoon Bridge’s tall, round light fixtures on gray, granite abutments and white, wrought iron sides, are Victorian and reminiscent of the nineteenth century. The footbridge unites the pathway from Charles to Arlington Streets and spans the garden’s lagoon.
By August, 2020, more than a dozen ducks in the Public Garden’s lagoon had died. Since the swan boats did not operate that pandemic summer, the ducks died from a bacteria that grew in the still waters of the lagoon. The swan boats evidentially create enough turbulence to discourage the formation of bacteria in the water.
One of Boston’s top tourist attractions, Swan Boats in Boston Public Garden
Photo by Caryn Coyle
Statue of George Washington astride his horse.
Photo by Caryn Coyle
Boston drained the lagoon that summer to save the ducks and everyone else who might come into contact with the contaminated water. Dogs were discouraged from drinking it the summer of 2020.
Since the desolate years of the pandemic, the swan boats have returned. I was elated to ride on one on a warm, magnificent summer day. It is a calming sensation to glide along the lagoon. Life pauses. We are surrounded by the well kept garden, the canopy of green from all the trees and the tall buildings of Boston. Ducks travel, once again, nearby. A pair of swans, swim effortlessly along the lagoon. Their necks, marvelously pliant, dip below the water and back up again, elegantly. A swan boat ride does not last long, but its charm envelopes you in tranquility.
A photo of me taken that day captures the awe and serenity I have always felt on a swan boat. My hair is now graying, and I wear a navy blue sleeveless dress. A cardigan with flowers that match the navy blue of my dress, is folded in my lap. I have switched my maryjanes for walkable sandals. My face is turned up slightly to scan the view, and my mouth is slightly ajar. I am elated. Beauty surrounds me.
One hundred years after the Boston Common, America’s first public park, was established, amateur horticulturalists created a public botanic garden next to it. And riding on a swan boat, a summertime tradition indicative of Boston, is a treat that will stay with you for a lifetime.
This is a wonderful piece of writing, Caryn. It brought back a memory from my childhood when I was taken for a ride on the swan boats. It was magical.
Claire
Born and raised in Boston, I was thrilled to be taken to the Public Gardens and the swan boats. You’ve captured something special about the city. Wonderful piece of writing.
Claire, thanks so much. I am a big fan of our swan boats.