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Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ lifelike bronze pays homage to the “Fighting 54th” – one of the only entirely African-American regiments in the Civil War. Led by Boston native Robert Shaw, the 54th amassed an impressive battle record.

Over 25,000 Union Army veterans remembered their fallen Civil War comrades at the 1877 dedication of Martin Milmore’s impressive memorial. Bas-reliefs depict the soldiers’ and sailors’ departure to and return from war.

During summer, children splash under the iridescent spray of the pond’s fountains. Come winter, kids of all ages lace up their skates and take to the ice. Skate rentals and hot chocolate are available at the nearby hut.

Built in 1912 to honor George Parkman, a benefactor of the park, the bandstand is modeled after Versailles’ Temple d’Amour. In summer it hosts everything from concerts to graduations.

Eight duckling statues have sprung from the pages of Robert McCloskey’s kids’ book and fallen in line behind their mother at the pond’s edge.

William Blaxton, Boston’s first white settler, is depicted greeting John Winthrop (see John Winthrop (1587–1649)) in John F Paramino’s 1930 bronze. Note the word “Shawmut” – the Native American name for the land that would become Boston.

This elegant 1869 span over the lagoon is often mistaken for a suspension bridge, a tribute to the architect’s clever design. It is a favorite spot for wedding pictures.

Summer hasn’t officially arrived in Boston until the swan boats emerge from hibernation and glide onto the Public Garden pond. With their gracefully arching necks and brilliantly painted bills, each distinctive swan boat can accommodate up to 20 people.

The nation’s first president cuts a stately figure at the western end of the Public Garden. Thomas Ball’s 1869 bronze was the first to depict George Washington astride a horse.

This 1868 statue commemorates the first etherized operation, which took place at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1846. Controversial from the outset, this is the West’s only monument to the powers of a drug.