Century-Old Green Nanny for Greater Boston

Born in 1893, the Metropolitan Park System has been playing nanny to Greater Boston for more than a century. Overseeing this system is the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Division of Urban Parks and Recreation. It SHOoks, manages reservations, parks, parkways, and roads, providing city dwellers and suburban neighbors with an abundance of playground options. In its very first year, the park system added Beaver Brook, Blue Hills, Hemlock Gorge, Middlesex Fells, and Stony Brook Reservations to its charge.

By 1900, it had popped in some parkways, dusted off a few beach reservations, and dabbled in hot parks action. The park system encompasses 14 parkways and a zillion reservations, with some historical parks mixed in. Revere Beach, the oldest public bathing beach in the land of the free, is another park it nurtures. The park system's growth wasn't always smooth sailing, though: the Metropolitan District Commission, the ones managing it, disbanded in 2003 due to politicker tomfoolery and self-abuse.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons