For more than 125 years, the Paget family has operated the famous Swan Boats in
Boston’s Public Garden Lagoon—a Hub institution that’s as much
a harbinger of spring as catching a ball game at Fenway Park or strolling along
Newbury Street. The serenely graceful boats date to 1877 when Robert Paget, whose
descendants continue to run the business, opened a rowboat for hire business on
the Public Garden Lagoon. Here, we talk to Swan Boats scion Lyn Paget about how
her great-grandfather began this tradition and how it endures today.
Q: What was your great-grandfather’s inspiration for
the Swan Boats?
A: In the 1870s, the popularity of the bicycle was beginning to take off in urban
areas like Boston, so my great-grandfather developed a catamaran-style boat that
was propelled by a paddle-wheel. He was an opera fan, so the idea of covering the
paddle wheel mechanism, which is an unattractive part of the boat, came to him from
the opera Lohengrin, which he had just seen in New York. In it, the princess is
saved by a brave knight who crosses a river in a boat pulled by a swan.
Q: It’s pretty remarkable that the business has stayed
in the family for 125 years.
A: Yes, my great-grandfather passed away very early into the Swan Boat legacy. He
lived for only about a year after starting it up. But his wife Julia, who had four
small children, ran the business for several years until her son John took over.
My father, Paul Paget, is the current owner. It’s a family business, so everyone
in my immediate and extended family is involved—from aunts and uncles to cousins.
On any given day, there are a number of Pagets working on the boats.
Q: What happens on a Swan Boat ride? Is there a guided tour?
A: No, it’s completely silent. I think that’s one
of its great appeals. It’s a very quiet ride for being in the middle of the
city. Oftentimes you just hear the sound of the paddle wheel splashing against the
water. The Public Garden is such a spectacular place. The boat ride is very relaxing.
We had one regular customer, a jeweler named Bernie, who would come down every single
day on his lunch hour with a small transistor radio. He would put his earplugs in
and just sit in the back of the boat listening to music. I guess that was his way
of dealing with the stress of his business. He has since moved to Florida, but still
comes back every year to ride the boats.
Q: The Swan Boats are up there with Fenway Park and Faneuil
Hall as “must see” Boston attractions. How do they maintain their appeal?
A: As you get older, you begin to appreciate things that don’t change, things
you can count on from year to year. When people return to the city or town they
grew up in, it’s quite different from the way they remember. The Swan Boats
are an enduring Boston tradition that has remained relatively unchanged. People
remember coming here with their parents or grandparents, and they want to bring
their own children or grandchildren to share in that experience.