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CONANT WILL PRESENT GIFT OF JOHN HARVARD MALL TO CITY

Unnamed Benefactor Makes Possible Charlestown Park

John Harvard Mall in City Square, Charlestown, will be presented to the City of Boston by the President and Fellows of Harvard College in formal ceremonies at the Mall next Sunday at 2 o'clock.

President Conant, Governor Saltonstall, and Mayor Tobin of Boston will speak at the dedication in honor of John Harvard, founder of the University. The generous gift of an anonymous donor provides for the new park and playground.

There once stood on the site of the Hall, a dwelling built by John Harvard and the meeting house where he preached. Now surrounded by a combination brick wall and wooden fence, the attractively landscaped spot will serve as a recreation center in the heart of Charlestown.

Last autumn, the Harvard Corporation accepted the gift to be presented to the City of Boston upon compleion. The park and playground, open for public use, will be presented by President Conant, chairman of the meeting.

An inscription in the granite base of a flagpole near the modern playground equipment commemorates John Harvard, mentioning his foresighted concern for the advancement of education which inspired the gift of his library, half his estate, to the embryo Harvard.

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The brick wall encompassing the park contains a series of plaques depicting scenes from early American history, such as the landing of John Winthrop, a governor of Massachusetts and an organizer of the College.

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