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| Boston's Swan Boats |
Editor: Eileen O'Connell
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The Paget family, who own and operate the Swan Boats, were honored for a over a century of service to Boston. The Swan Boats are a fleet of pleasure boats operating on the lake of the Boston Public Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The boats have been operating since the 1870s, and have become a cultural icon for the city of Boston.
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| Robert Paget created the first swan boats in 1877, reputedly inspired
by Wagner's Lohengrin. The oldest of the six boats in service date back
to 1910 and 1920 respectively. The Paget family still own and operate
the Swan Boats, and the design was copyrighted and trademarked in the
1980s. The current Swan Boats carry around 20 passengers, seated on
transverse benches, on a 15 minute figure of eight voyage around the
lake. The boats are 30ft long, and are formed of two pontoons in a
catamaran arrangement. They are manually propelled by a crewmember,
often a high school or college student, who pedals and steers the craft
from within the swan outline shell at the stern. The pedals drive a
paddle wheel situated between the boat's twin hulls.The Swan Boats are
famed for their appearance in the stories of Make Way For Ducklings and
The Trumpet of the Swan, and are often portrayed in tourist guides and
other books about the city. |
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