Once Grand, Now Unnoticed

Once upon a time, the Edwin U. Curtis Memorial acted as a grand entrance to the Esplanade parkland. Today, it's in a very prominent spot, next to the Hatch Shell, but seems to be ignored by the thousands who pass by it each year.

Like most of the important historic elements of this landmark park, The Curtis Memoial has been neglected and is in deperate in need of care.

Boston Athenaeum Watercolor

To visualize the original grandeur of this monument, you must imagine walking to the intersection of Clarendon and Back Streets and seeing magnificent columns and urns of pink marble with “...it’s seats welcoming those who walk along the bank of the Charles River.” That’s how then Governor Channing Cox described it.

For those who would like that vision in color, the Boston Athenaeum has a painting of the memorial by leading Boston watercolorist, Vladimir Pavlosky from about 1930. That work is available for viewing by appointment in the Prints & Photographs Department. Or, click here to see a digital image. Be sure to use the sliding zoom over the image to see the entire painting.

Here are a few tidbits about this piece of Boston's historic, architectural, and cultural heritage.

• The Curtis Memorial was dedicated in May of 1923. It was moved, around 1949, when Storrow Drive separated the park from the city, and finally made part of the footbridge in 1952.
• The memorial was designed by renowned Boston Architect, Guy Lowell.
• It was landcape architect, Arthur Shurcliff who incorporated it into his design for extending the parkland after the roadway was built.
• Edwin Upton Curtis is best known as the Boston Police Commissioner whose refusal to recognize a union formed by police officers led to the infamous 1919 Boston Police Strike and days of rioting in the city.
• Curtis gave a lifetime of service to the city before becoming police commissioner. He was elected Mayor of Boston in 1895 and oversaw a major reorganization of the elections department and the consolidation of other departments.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

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