I walked to the George Washington Equestrian Statue

The grandest of all statues located within the Boston Public Garden is the George Washington Equestrian statue located near one of the park’s major entrances at the intersection of Arlington Street and Commonwealth Avenue. The statue is breathtaking measuring thirty-eight feet tall. Atop the granite base is Mr. Washington in his full military gear astride his horse, which is well, what an equestrian statue is. This was the first equestrian statue in all of Boston. Another noted equestrian statue of Paul Revere is located Boston’s Little Italy district (the North End). Alongside Washington’s left side is his scabbard and within his right hand is a sword which has known to disappear so often that a stock of spares is maintained by the city.

The artist was Thomas Ball who also designed the second-place Charles Sumner statue located within the Garden. Other noted works by Ball include the Daniel Webster statue in Central Park. A Ball, a Charlestown native, spent three years on this work prior to its unveiling on July 3, 1869. With its unveiling, the statue finally gave Boston the fitting tribute to Washington which it had sought for thirty-nine years since a failed attempt to rename the Boston Common to Washington Park.