Arnold Arboretum
AddressBoston (Jamaica Plain), MA, United States of America, 02130
Alternate Address125, Arborway, MA, United States of America, 02130
Site Number00033
Building Root Number
00033
Architect (Original)
Frederick Law Olmsted
Land Acquired
1872
Constructed 1872
Constructed 1872
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe Arnold Arboretum is named in honor of James Arnold, a merchant from New Bedford, Massachusetts, who died in 1868 leaving a bequest to be devoted to the advancement of agriculture or horticulture.Historical NotesThe Arnold Arboretum was established by an agreement between the City of Boston and the President and Fellows of Harvard College in 1872. The Arboretum, which combined multiple parcels of land owned by Harvard University and Boston, was planned as a scientifically managed collection of trees, originally on 120 acres. In 1882 the President and Fellows of Harvard University and the City of Boston agreed to add additional adjoining land to the parcel. These new lands would include the paths and carriage-ways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. In 1894 additional parcels were added to the Arboretum including the area known as Peter’s Hill and a portion of the Bussey farm. The Arnold Arboretum was opened to the public in 1898.
Additional Information
“The Arboretum.” Boston Evening Transcript, 23 Dec. 1879, p. 5.
Schultz, Christine, and Kindra Clineff. “A Garden of Wisdom & Wonder.” Yankee, vol. 61, no. 4, Apr. 1997, p. 44.
Allen, Daniel. “The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.” Yankee, vol. 69, no. 4, May 2005, pp. 14–15.
Sargent, Charles S. The First Fifty Years of the Arnold Arboretum / C.S. Sargent. s.n, 1922.
Through the Arnold Arboretum. Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 1934.
Sargent, Charles S. A Museum of Trees : The Arnold Arboretum. , 1915.
“Bussey Farm and Arnold Arboretum.” Boston Evening Transcript, 31 Jan. 1879, p. 3.
Hurlbut, Byron Satterlee. A Guide Book to the Grounds and Buildings of Harvard University. Cambridge: U, 1898. Print.
Snoonian, Deborah. “Reed Hilderbrand and Maryann Thompson Join Forces for the New Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden in Boston.” Architectural Record, vol. 193, no. 10, Oct. 2005, pp. 124–127. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=18821196&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Farrand, Beatrix. “The Debt of Landscape Art to a Museum of Trees.” Architectural Record, vol. 44, no. 5, 1918, p. 407, usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1918-11.PDF.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places January 12, 1965. National Register Information System ID: 66000127