This spring, 18 new bench plaques are being installed along the Esplanade - sponsored by individuals, families, and institutions committed to the restoration and maintenance of the Esplanade.

Sponsoring a bench is a great way to celebrate, honor, or remember someone special, while making a valued contribution to the health of the Esplanade. Your generous contribution to a bench plaque goes directly to park restoration projects, which have recently included care and maintenance of the park's signature trees and restoration of significant structures. Create a lasting tribute, and support a Boston landmark - the Charles River Esplanade.

To find out how you can sponsor a bench contact our office at 617.227.0365, or grubin@esplanadeassociation.org.

You can also download a sponsorship application here and mail or fax it back to our office.

Project Background

In 2002, The Esplanade Association advocated successfully for the replacement of the park’s benches. The DCR responded, and today 266 new benches welcome people to the parkland – inviting visitors to sit, relax, and stay awhile. Through the generosity of bench sponsors, these hard-working benches are raising the funds needed for vital restoration efforts.

The Bench Sponsorship Program demonstrates the best aspects of the Esplanade Association’s work.

Participating in community hearings for the “Master Plan for the Charles River Basin,” where the replacement of benches was a shared goal;
Working in partnership and ongoing communication with state officials;
Replacing 450 benches along the Charles River Basin as a whole – a benefit to our partner organizations;
Developing an historically appropriate design, based on drawings by Arthur Shurcliff, the landscape architect for the Esplanade;
Using funds donated to sponsor benches exclusively for restoration projects.

Find your place on the Esplanade. Choose a favorite bench.

The benches available for sponsorship are between the Museum of Science and the BU Bridge. Sponsoring a bench is the perfect way to celebrate, honor, or remember someone. Adding a donation to a community bench enables you to support specific aspects of park life. Benches may honor the musicians who performed at the Hatch Shell, the volunteers who have cleaned the park, or the men and women who created the parkland.

Contact the Esplanade Association to find out how to sponsor a bench or establish a community bench.

Signing up to care for a bench and the area around it makes you part of the Esplanade’s Green Team. Find out how you can join this effort.

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The Esplanade Association
10 Derne Street
Boston, MA 02114
617.227.0365