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The Parks

Figure 70
View of the women's gymnasium, 1891.

revised (Figure 73). With forty-six acres, this was by far the largest neighborhood park. It was located directly on Boston Harbor and was reached by Neptune Road, a parkway also designed by the Olmsted firm. Originally a bare and windswept piece of marsh and upland, the site was enlarged by fill and planted with hardy native trees. In function, Wood Island Park was somewhat similar to Charlesbank. The revised plan included outdoor gymnasiums for men and women, a beach, and playgrounds. There were attractive walks as well as grounds for active recreation.¹⁶ As at Charlesbank, the men's gymnastic equipment was removed during the winter, and the ground was flooded for skating (Figure 74).

Wood Island Park served a community that was more homogeneous and self-contained than the West End. In 1880 the population of Wards 1 and 2 (East Boston and the Harbor Islands) was just

Figure 71
View of the men's gymnasium, 1889.

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The Parks