Bartlett Mall (Newburyport, Massachusetts)

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The Bartlet Mall is made up of several components. A wide, tree-lined, pedestrian promenade runs approximately 250 yards along High Street, and ties in to a system of footpaths that run along the perimeter of the park and the edge of the pond. The historically significant and beautiful Essex Superior Courthouse – the oldest continuously operated courthouse in America – is located along the promenade at the top of Green Street. A lovely kettlehole pond, called Frog Pond, with a sculptured cast iron fountain aerating the water, occupies the center of the park. A playground and basketball court occupy one corner across the street from an elementary school, and open lawn and trees fill out the rest of the park.

The area around the Frog Pond has been used as a town common since the 1600’s. The promenade known as the Bartlet Mall was created in 1800 through the efforts of Captain Edmund Bartlet by filling in a ravine. In 1887, Charles Eliot developed a plan to improve the Common, and much of the park’s historical significance dates to this plan. The framework of the park and the essential elements designed by Eliot – the grading, stair locations and circulation routes – are enjoyed by the public to this day. Charles Eliot was an internationally famous, early seminal figure in the field of landscape architecture, and partnered with Frederick Law Olmsted before his untimely death in 1897. The National Register of Historic Places, which is the nation’s official listing of cultural resources most worthy of preservation, includes the Bartlet Mall and Superior Courthouse.

A master plan for restoring and improving the park was completed in 1998. In 2001 and 2003, the promenade was restored in two phases. The broad walkway was re-graded, crowned to provide surface drainage, and edged with a flush granite curb. The adjacent lawns were replanted and new Allee Elms were planted to recreate the historical symmetry and overarching canopy along the promenade. Period lighting was established along the pond side of the walkway, as well as new benches.