Splashing at the Frog Pond is such a familiar sight of summer in the Boston Common that many residents can tend to overlook it as familiar summer scenery year in and year out.
However, like so many things, the fund of summer at the Frog Pond was taken away in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Frog Pond remained closed in 2020 and for skating in 2021, but the veil was lifted and the spray fountain turned on Thursday, June 24, as a Boston tradition was restored after a countdown by Parks Commissioner Ryan Woods and Acting Mayor Kim Janey.
“We are so happy to be here and to re-open the Frog Pond after a year of not being able to use the Frog Pond because of COVID,” said Woods.
Janey said the Pond is something that has been a part of her family for four generations, at least.
“This is a wonderful day and a joyful day in our city, particularly given we’ve had a difficult time dealing with COVID-19,” she said. “We still have work to do with the vaccinations, but it’s because of that good work we’ve already done that we can be here and have this time of joy and revival. I played in the Frog Pond as a kid in the 1970s. I brought my daughter here in the summers when I was a single mother and I bring my grandchildren here now. There are at least four generations of my family that have enjoyed the Frog Pond. It is an important place for us to be able to cool off and have access to the water on these 90 degree days.”
A year-round recreational facility, the Frog Pond offers ice skating in the winter, a spray pool and supervised wading for youth in the summer, and a Carousel from spring through fall. The spray pool is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Labor Day. The facility is managed by The Skating Club of Boston and staffed by youth workers from the Boston Youth Fund. For further information, please call the Frog Pond at (617) 635-2120.