105 mm Howitzer, Esplanade/Hatch Shell - Boston, MA - Musical Instruments on Waymarking.com

In Boston, at the Hatch Shell on the portion of the Charles River Reservation called the Esplanade, is a howitzer cannon, facing the Charles River and permanently mounted next to the Hatch Shell. This cannon may be an ordinary cannon, but it is used once a year during an annual concert.

Every July 4, the Boston Pops Orchestra has a concert within the Hatch Shell, where, literally hundreds of thousands of people listen to live, and millions of people watch on TV.

This institution has been going on for over 75 years, but there was a time when its popularity was waning. Around 1974, David Mugar, now Executive Producer of the concert, suggested to the conductor of the Boston Pops at the time, Arthur Fiedler, that he have the orchestra play Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," but with a few "extras." One of the things was fireworks on the Charles River. The other was to use howizers as extra percussion. So, the concert had these as well as church bells ringing from area churches to symbolize the celebration of the withdrawal of Napoleon's army from Russia. And the concerts have been ever so popular since.

There is a plaque in the ground next to the cannon that briefly states the story of the cannons and that the plaque and mounted cannon was placed in 1998 on the 25th Anniversary of the use of them in concert.

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Boston Pops July 4th Concerts
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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/10/2013 Chasing Blue Sky visited it