MDC Memorial Hatch Shell   

Charles River Esplanade
Boston, MA 2114
617-727-9547
www.state.ma.us/mdc

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Sealed up every winter and cracked open every spring, the Hatch Memorial Shell might very well have been named the Fiedler Shell had it not been commissioned through the will of Maria E. Hatch and dedicated ''to public service as a memorial to Edward Hatch.'' But Arthur Fiedler's presence is felt nearly everywhere in proximity to the eye and ear pleasing bandstand. Fiedler started the free Boston Pops concerts on the site in a temporary shell in 1929 and kept them going when this structure was built in 1941. The only way to get to it from the Boston side of Storrow Drive without being turned into roadkill is by crossing over the twisting, winding, salmon- colored Arthur Fiedler Footbridge (built in 1953). Roam around the grounds and cross any of the many small bridges over numerous lagoons off the Charles River and you'll stumble upon a huge bust of the Maestro that went up in 1984. Made up of stacks of rounded sheets of steel, it teeters on the fine line of coming off as either beautiful or hideous. There's no such question attached to the shell, though. Made of granite and a zigzag interior pattern of teak wood, it carries an art deco motif and features big bronze letters across the lower front and back spelling out the names of dozens of the world's foremost composers: Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, as well as Gershwin and, the newest addition, former Pops conductor John Williams. The immense patch of green lawn that spreads out in front of the shell is presided over by larger-than-life bronzes of George S. Patton Jr., Charles Devens, David Ignatius Walsh and others. Besides classical concerts, there's also jazz, dance, rock 'n' roll oldies, and films emanating from the shell. But watch out. There are also rules. A posted sign forbids the following: drunkenness, breach of peace, profanity, amplified sound (well, that's not paid much attention to), and disorderly conduct offensive to the general public. -- Harmon Sullivan