building the american landscape - Univerza v Novi Gorici

was to be clarified during the first half of the nineteenth century. The most wellknown
example is Boston Common, dating back to 1634, 213 where in around 1830
cows were forbidden to graze and during the same period various transformations
were made to set the perimeter and pathways within the park spaces. Boston
Common clearly illustrates the connection between pastoral aspirations and the
first experiences of landscape gardening. In this case, the area did not merely
conjure up a pastoral picture; it was actually part of it. However, the concept of
public use and public ownership of the parks remained an American prerogative in
the history of gardens, which merits a brief comment. The legislative measures,
which ratified this trend, began in 1847 with the Rural Cemetery Act, passed by the
state of New York to regulate the use of burial lands, which were actually the first
examples of American public parks. In 1851, the restrictions and development of
public parks designed explicitly for citizens’ wellbeing and pleasure were set out by
a law, known as the First Park Act, once again by the state of New York, one of the
most advanced as regards landscape gardening. The difference between this and
the previous experiences on the old continent was basically outlined by the
following factors: the right of use, ownership of the park and the project
commission. In Europe, large town parks were usually owned by their respective
national monarchies and the reigning Crown would grant the population their use; a
right occasionally restricted to public holidays or at preset times. The French case
provides us with even more information to clarify another aspect. The royal gardens
only became public property after the revolution, but the design and development
of the parks had undisputedly been created under the aegis of the King. Although it
differed from the point of view of “public right”, the American trend found similar,
contemporary experiences only in England. The homeland of landscape projects
only conceived the first park with public ownership, purposes and project design in
1847, despite its long history of English gardening, 214 when the opening of
213 This date is related only to the transfer of land ownership from private to the Municipality of
Boston
214 Birkenhead Park is usually considered the first public Park because the Borough of Birkenhead was
the first to ask the UK Parliament for permission to use public funds to build a town park. There were
some previous, similar projects: Victoria Park, London (1842‐46), Peel Park, Salford (1846), Derby
Arboretum (1840),
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