St. Stephen's Green -- Dublin, Ireland
N 53° 20.327 W 006° 15.472
29U E 682561 N 5913464
St. Stephen's Green is an inner-city public park in Dublin, Ireland.
Waymark Code: WMWZE
Location: Ireland
Date Posted: 10/31/2006
Views: 148
In medieval times, St. Stephen’s Green was a marshy commons on the edge of Dublin, used for grazing. In 1663, Dublin Corporation seeing an opportunity to raise much needed revenue decided to enclose the centre of the common, and to sell land around the perimeter for building. The park was enclosed with a wall in 1664. The houses built around the Green were rapidly replaced by the Georgian style and by the end of the eighteenth century, the Green was a place of resort for the better-off of the city. Much of the present-day landscape of the square comprises modern buildings, some in a replica Georgian style, and relatively little survives from the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1814, control of St. Stephen’s Green park passed to Commissioners for the local householders, who redesigned the park layout, and replaced the walls with railings. Access was restricted to local residents. In 1877, Parliament passed an Act to reopen St. Stephen’s Green to the public, at the initiative of Sir A.E. Guinness, a member of the Guinness brewing family who lived at St. Anne's, Raheny and at Ashford Castle. He later paid for laying out the Green in approximately its current form, which took place in 1880, and gave it to the Corporation as representatives of the people. By way of thanks the city commissioned a statue of him which faces the College of Surgeons.
Further north again (and spanning much of the length of the park) is a large lake. Home to ducks and other water fowl, the lake is fed by an artificial water fall, spanned by O'Connell bridge, and fronted by an ornamental gazebo.
To the south side of the main garden circle is more open heath surrounding a bandstand, and often frequented by lunching students, workers and shoppers on Dublin's sunnier days.
Name: St. Stephen's Green
Street Location: St. Stephen's Green
Local Municipality: Dublin
State/Province, etc.: Ireland
Country: Ireland
Web Site: [Web Link]
Picnic Facilities: some benches and I think I saw a pavilion...
Recreational Facilities: duck watching, walking around, ...
Monuments/Statues: Several
Fountains: throughout
Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: plenty of water with ducks
Memorial/Commemoration: Not listed
Date Established: Not listed
Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): Not listed
Special Events: Not listed
Traditional Geocaches: Not listed
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