BOSTON (WHDH) - The opening date for the Boston Swan Boats is drawing near.
Mayor Marty Walsh will host the first ride of the season at the Public Garden lagoon on Saturday, April 14, at 10 a.m.
“This year the Swan Boats celebrate their 142nd season of providing joy and memories to residents and visitors in the Public Garden,” said Walsh said in a press release. “We’re ready for spring in Boston and the tradition of joining the Paget family and local children for the first ride around the Public Garden lagoon.”
This annual rite of spring is made possible thanks to the Paget family, owners and operators of the Swan Boats first launched by Irish immigrant and shipbuilder Robert Paget.
Walsh will be joined on the first ride of the year with students from Boston Public Schools including the Ellis Mendell Elementary School and the Higginson/Lewis K-8 School.
Fully loaded, each Swan Boat weighs three tons and carries up to twenty passengers. The Swan Boats are built on oak framed pontoons sheathed in copper just as they were initially constructed in 1877.
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