The Swan Boats of Boston

This Boston tradition dates back to the 1870s when Robert Paget was granted a boat for hire license by the City of Boston. In 1877, he capitalized on the technology of the newly popular bicycle and, with the help of others, developed a catamaran that housed a foot-propelled paddle wheel arrangement. To cover the mechanism, Paget suggested a swan, such as the one that guided the knight to Princess Elsa in the opera Lohengrin.

The Swan Boats have become a Boston tradition and are still run by Paget's descendents more than 130 years later. Made famous in stories like Make Way for Ducklings and The Trumpet of the Swan, the Swan Boats are the only vessels of their kind in the world.