Fresh Pond: The History of a Cambridge Landscape
"Sinclair's richly illustrated study traces the shifting cultural meaning of Cambridge's most important public landscape through generations of use and abuse. Well researched and eloquently written, this is landscape history at its best."--Robin Karson, author of A Genius for Place"Jill Sinclair explores the history of Cambridge's most prominent natural feature, Fresh Pond, with amazing skill."--Charles M. Sullivan, Executive Director, Cambridge Historical Commission(Charles Sullivan)"Jill Sinclair has written a wonderful account of Cambridge's most prominent natural feature, Fresh Pond, so aptly named by the colonists who noted its connection to the tidal waters of Alewife Brook. After centuries as a venue for fishing and fowling, the pond became at once a pleasure ground for Bostonians, a prolific source of ice for export to world markets, and a public water supply. Engineers tried to tame Fresh Pond into a reservoir at the same time that Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. and Jr. were hired to enhance the surrounding landscape as a public park, which Harvard students turned into a miniature Western Front as they trained for World War I. Sinclair explores these and many other aspects of Fresh Pond's history with amazing skill."Charles M. Sullivan, Executive Director, Cambridge Historical Commission