Mossy memorial mural at Jamaica Pond

The Mayor's Mural Crew's usual medium is paint on cement, but to honor Frederick Law Olmsted's 200th birthday, it turned to a material he probably knew well: Moss.

The crew outfitted the gazebo at Jamaica Pond with something he wrote:

Gradually and silently the charm comes over us; we know not exactly where or how.

Olmsted, who designed the Emerald Necklace that wrapped around Jamaica Pond, penned that line to describe the natural beauty he saw on trip to the Isle of Wight in 1850.

The Mayor's Mural Crew reports how the letters were applied:

It was completed by the City's Mayor's Mural Crew (Boston Parks Department employees) - Heidi Schork, Liz O'Brien and Jerome Jones. This was our second "moss graffiti" installation at Jamaica Pond Boathouse - the first was at the end of March 2020, right as COVID swept in. We collected the moss throughout Franklin Park, use a special paste to apply to brick (which allows the moss to continue growing while sticking to the brick), and used steak knives to cut the moss precisely.