Marvin Goody Memorial

Interesting facts about the Marvin Goody Memorial in the Public Gardens

May 31, 2018 by cryan.com

In the Boston Public Gardens, along Charles Street, is a flagpole and several granite benches. This is a memorial to Marvin Goody.

Who Was Marvin Goody?

This memorial is in honor of Marvin Goody, who was a former chairman of the Boston Art Commission and Friend of the Public Garden and Common, as well as an MIT faculty member.

Interesting Facts about this Memorial and Marvin Goody

• Born in 1929 and died of a heart attack in 1980.
• He was a well known and respected architect and worked at Goody Clancy
• He was one of the founders of the Friends of the Public Garden
• His Wife, Joan Goody, designed the circle memorial where the couple once walked each morning to their office to near-by Boylston Street.
• The memorial was partly funded by the Edward Ingersoll Browne Trust Fund
• The memorial is a circular arrangement of square stone block benches around a flagpole. (The benches are called "Pods")
• He worked hard to keep up the Public Gardens, which is why there's a quote at the memorial which reads, "To See His Work, Look Around You"
• There is a sycamore tree that was planted near the memorial in his memory.
• He founded the red stones used on the Public Gardens bridge
• He made sure that the fountains were working order and frequently checked them to make sure that water was always flowing.
• A $5,000 annual prize in Goody's name was set up in 1983 for architecture, city planning or engineering master's students at MIT.

Interesting Facts about the Flag Pole

• The Flagpole is one of the oldest markers in the Garden - older than the 1869 "Ether" statue.
• The Friend of the Public Garden help design the path around the flagpole in the 1970s - during the park restoration project.
• The Park Plaza hotel donated the American Flag, as well as funding for lighting. (By law the flag is to be illuminated since it is never lowered.)
• Flag pole base is made of Bronze and was made in 1921.
• Base of the flag contains the signature TF McGann & Sons - Boston MA

Home of the Future

One of Marvin Goody assignment was designing the Monsanto House of the Future. This was a project that was displayed at Disneyland in the 1960s.

Watch this Disney video about the home of the future: