Editing Copley Square (section)

==History==
[[File:Boston 1888 Sampson ArtSquare.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Detail of 1888 map, showing Art Square and vicinity. The map shows [[West End Street Railway]] trolley lines entering the square from Huntington Avenue (southwest), Clarendon Street (north), and Boylston Street (east).]]
A significant number of important Boston educational and cultural institutions were originally located adjacent to (or very near) Copley Square, reflecting 19th-century Boston's aspirations for the location as a center of culture and progress.<ref>Douglass Shand-Tucci, ''The Gods of Copley Square'', lecture series, 2009, sponsored by Back Bay Historical/Boston-centric Global Studies and the New England Historical Genealogical Society</ref>
These included<!-- break out into still-there vs. decamped, and maybe integrate with architecture list? -->
the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]], the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], [[Harvard Medical School]], the [[Boston Society of Natural History|New England Museum of Natural History]] (today's Museum of Science), [[Trinity Church, Boston|Trinity Church]], the [[New Old South Church]], the [[Boston Public Library, McKim Building|Boston Public Library]], the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], the Massachusetts Normal Art School (today's [[Massachusetts College of Art and Design]]), the [[Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing|Horace Mann School for the Deaf]], [[Boston University]], [[Emerson College]], and [[Northeastern University]].

{{multiple image |direction=vertical
|image1=Copley Square looking east 1905 loc.jpg
|image2=Copley Square looking west 1905 loc.jpg
|footer=Copley Square, looking east (top) and west, {{circa|1905}}}}
By 1876, with the completion of the Museum of Fine Arts, [[Walter Muir Whitehill]] noted that "Copley Square which {{mdash}} unlike the rest of the Back Bay {{mdash}} had never been properly or reasonably laid out, was beginning to stumble into shape".<ref>{{harvnb|Whitehill|1968|p=171}}</ref> But the land comprising the current square, bisected diagonally by Huntington Avenue, was still available for commercial development. The city purchased the larger triangle, then known as Art Square, in 1883 and dubbed it Copley Square.{{#tag:ref |Some local wits suggested "Copley Skew" or "Copley Corners" as more appropriate for the non-square shape.<ref>{{cite news |title=Copley Skew |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=May 15, 1885 |page=4 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript-copley-square/103046347/}}</ref>  Others were against honoring a man who had left America in 1774 and never returned.|group=note}} The smaller plot, known as Trinity Triangle, was the subject of several lawsuits against the property owner, who planned to put up a six-story apartment building directly in front of Trinity Church. Foundations were laid but further construction was delayed by various injunctions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102903677/copley-square-construction-dispute-1884/ |title=Trinity Objects to Bachelors' Hall as Neighbor |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=September 24, 1884 |page=3 |access-date=June 2, 2022}}</ref> The city council appropriated funds for purchase of the triangle in 1885.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103037796/trinity-triangle-1885/ |title=The Common Council |date=January 2, 1885 |page=4 |access-date=June 3, 2022 |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript}}</ref> Calls to close off Huntington between Dartmouth and Boylston streets began almost immediately, but that was not accomplished until 1968.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Campbell |first2=Peter |last2=Vanderwarker |title=Cityscapes of Boston |date=1992 |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co. |page=74 |url=https://archive.org/details/cityscapesofbost00camp/ |url-access=registration |access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Copley Square fountain c1970.jpg|thumb|left|Fountain in Copley Square, c. 1970]]
In 1966, a proposal by the Watertown, Massachusetts, landscape design firm [[Sasaki (company)|Sasaki, Dawson, DeMay]] was selected from 188 entrants in a national competition sponsored by the city and private development concerns.<!--, the Back Bay Council, the Back Bay Planning and Development Corp., and the Boston Redevelopment Authority.--> The design centered on a sunken terraced plaza, intended to separate the pedestrian from the noise and bustle of the surrounding streets, but it also isolated the square from the community. As the architecture critic [[Robert Campbell (journalist)|Robert Campbell]] noted, "From the day it opened, it didn't work".<ref>{{cite news |title=Copley Sq. may come back to life |last=Campbell |first=Robert |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=August 9, 1983 |page=43 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102930117/copley-square-1983/ |access-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref>

In 1983 the Copley Square Centennial Committee, consisting of representatives of business, civic and residential interests, was formed. They announced a new design competition, funded by a grant of $100,000 from the [[National Endowment for the Arts]]. The winner, announced in May 1984, was Dean Abbott of the New York firm Clarke & Rapuano.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tclf.org/pioneer/dean-abbott |website=The Cultural Landscape Foundation |title=Dean Abbott |access-date=June 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Pokorny|2002|pp=12–13}}</ref> The park was raised to street-level and a lawn and planting beds were added. The fountain, which had rarely functioned as intended, was re-configured. <!-- with a vaguely Egyptian aesthetic, for some reason. --> The updated park was dedicated on June 18, 1989, <!-- with speeches and a 300-pound cake, complete with a replica of the church and a four-foot-high edible Hancock tower. --> and received mixed reviews.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=June 11, 1989 |title=The newest Copley Square is better, but... |first=Robert |last=Campbell |page=225}}</ref>
<!-- Robert Campbell, who had panned the previous design, wrote, "It is definitely an improvement. [But it] seems, once again, to have been a lost opportunity for a great public space in Boston."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103091547/copley-square-1989-campbell-pt-1/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=June 11, 1898 |title=The newest Copley Square is better, but... |first=Robert |last=Campbell |page=225 |access-date=June 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103091496/copley-square-1989-campbell-pt-2/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=June 11, 1898 |title=Copley Square better, but...(continued) |first=Robert |last=Campbell |page=231 |access-date=June 3, 2022}}</ref> -->
<!--Alex Krieger, architect and Harvard professor, said, "There was a failure of nerve. I'm afraid that before another generation passes, there'll be yet another call to redesign or upgrade it." -->

By 2021 the park, now heavily used, was again in need of redesign; requirements included alleviating stress on existing trees, adding more trees, making the fountain safer, and prioritizing ease of maintenance. After a series of public meetings, the final proposal by Sasaki Associates was presented to the city in May 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sasaki.com/voices/city-of-boston-releases-design-updates-for-copley-square/ |website=sasaki.com |title=City of Boston Releases Design Updates for Copley Square |date=May 19, 2022 |access-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref> Renovations began on July 20, 2023, and are expected to take sixteen months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Improvements to Copley Square Park |website=boston.gov |url=https://www.boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/improvements-copley-square-park |access-date=August 25, 2023}}</ref> Part of the renovated park reopened on New Year’s Day, 2025. The plaza and raised grove are set to reopen in January/February, 2025, with the fountain, lawn, and perimeter sidewalks scheduled for completion after the 2025 Boston Marathon.<ref>{{cite web |title=City of Boston Announces Copley Square Park to partially Reopen New Year's Day |date=January 2, 2025 |website=City of Boston |url=https://www.boston.gov/news/city-boston-announces-copley-square-park-partially-reopen-new-years-day }}</ref> 

The non-profit membership organization Friends of Copley Square was formed in 1992 as a successor to the Copley Square Centennial Committee. It raises funds for care of the square's plantings, fountain, and monuments, and also manages the Copley Square Charitable trust.<ref>{{harvnb|Pokorny|2002|pp=43–44}}</ref>

The [[Boston Marathon]] foot race has finished at Copley Square since 1986.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/sports/marathon/articles/2010/04/16/the_finish/ |title=Evolution of the Boston Marathon finish line |last=Powers |first=John |date=April 16, 2010 |work=Boston Globe |access-date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> A memorial celebrating the race's 100th running in 1996 is located in the park, near the corner of Boylston and Dartmouth streets.
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publicartboston.com/PDF/100-PublicArtworks-interpretation.pdf |title=100 Public Artworks |work=Boston Marathon Memorial |publisher=Boston Art Commission |page=3 |access-date=January 13, 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122159/http://publicartboston.com/PDF/100-PublicArtworks-interpretation.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref>

===Unrealized proposals===
<!-- If this is TMI here, it could be broken out as "List of unrealized plans for Copley Square, Boston" -->
[[File:Copley Square map 1874.png|thumb|Surveyor's map of Copley Square, Boston, 1874]]
* '''1874''' A surveyor's map shows a "Chemical School, Inst. Tech." (never built) and four house lots on the larger triangle.
* '''1894''' A circular, sunken garden combining designs by [[Rotch & Tilden]] and [[Thomas Rogers Kimball#Walker and Kimball|Walker and Kimball]], ringed with trees and marble balustrades, centered on a small fountain.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103710177/copley-square-1894-rotch-walker-plan/ |title=Copley Sq Embellishment as Planned |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=June 14, 1894 |page=4 |access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref>
* '''1912''' A plan by architect Frank Bourne eliminated the Huntington Avenue crossing and sunk the square 2.5 feet below street level. One version featured an enormous monumental column in the center of the plaza.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103726466/copley-square-1912-frank-bourne-elevatio/ |title=Copley Square as Rearranged |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=October 26, 1912 |page=22 |access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref>
* '''1914''' Landscape architect [[Arthur Asahel Shurcliff|Arthur Shurtleff]] envisioned a circle of trees around the [[Brewer Fountain]], which would be moved from [[Boston Common]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103709135/copley-square-1914-arthur-shurtleff/ |title=Copley Square as It Probably Will Be --- The Semi-Official Plan |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=March 13, 1914 |page=2 |access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref>
* '''1927''' A proposal for a State War Memorial, from plans by [[Guy Lowell]], placed a large, cylindrical granite structure in a basin. The inner chamber rose fifty feet to a domed ceiling and the memorial was topped with bronze representation of ''Hope''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103720743/copley-square-1927-war-memorial-proposal/ |title=Recommends Copley Sq as Site for State's World War Memorial |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=February 28, 1927 |page=12 |access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref>
<!--* 1934 robert bellows ? -->
* '''2012''' A juried competition held by SHIFTBoston invited designs for creative illumination.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shiftboston.org/competitions/2012glow.php |website=SHIFTBoston |title=Glow Competition |year=2012 |access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref> First prize was awarded to the firm Khoury Levit Fong for their conceptual chandelier of LEDs suspended over the square.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cargocollective.com/khourylevitfong/Urban-Design/GLOW-SHIFT-Boston-Copley-Square-Competition |website=cargocollective.com/khourylevitfong |title=GLOW/SHIFT Boston Copley Square Competition |year=2012 |access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref>

===Boston Marathon bombing===
{{main|Boston Marathon bombing}}
On April 15, 2013, around 2:50&nbsp;pm (about three hours after the first runners crossed the line) two bombs exploded{{mdashb}}one near the finish line near the Boston Public Library, the other some seconds later and one block west. Three people were killed and at least 183 injured, at least 14 of whom lost limbs.