Attractions
IWalked Boston’s Common – Founders Memorial
The Founders Memorial is one of two dedications within the Boston Common to the city’s founder, William Blackstone. The first memorial is situated near the Park Street subway station and the second is today’s feature situated on the north end of the park near the intersection of Beacon Street and Spruce Street.
This bas-relief monument was sculpted by John Paramino and depicts the aforementioned William Blackstone (on the left) welcoming Puritan John Winthrop to Boston via a handshake. To the left of Blackstone are two on-looking Native Americans; while off to the right of Winthrop are the Puritans coming ashore via their ship, the Arabella. Also reflected within the far right corner of the sculpture are a male soldier and female figure said to represent Boston and its “prosperity” and “protection.”
The level of detail Mr. Paramino exhibits in this work is via a combination of thorough research and a bit of creativity. Paramino used some thirty-eight portraits of John Winthrop as models for his depiction of the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the case of William Blackstone though, Paramino had to get a bit more creative. As there is no existing portrait of Blackstone, he used for his inspiration what he likely perceived as the next best alternative…the man who had commissioned his work, then Boston mayor James Curley.
Website: http://www.publicartboston.com/content/founders-memorial
Address: Boston Common, Boston, MA. Near the intersection of Beacon Street and Spruce Street.
Cost: Free.
IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: Boston’s Common and Public Gardens. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all Boston tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE Boston Lite application, which includes a free 1 hour tour of a portion of Downtown.)