• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Wellesley Square
  • Private schools
  • Camp
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Athlete of the Week
  • Seniors
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Babson to move the Earth: Giant globe to become centerpiece of new park

February 20, 2018 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

Babson Globe 2017
Local runners pose in front of the Babson Globe

 

Visitors to Babson College’s campus in Wellesley have come away disappointed in recent years upon seeing the 28-ft. diameter, 25-ton globe, a landmark that has not spun on its axis since the early 1990s and whose once colorful surface has faded and peeled away in sections.

But Babson says the globe is about to undergo a serious makeover that will once again make it a serious attraction, not to mention a great holiday card background (i.e., Peace on Earth).

The globe will be moved in March to begin a yearlong refurbishment that will result in the landmark becoming a centerpiece of a new Centennial Park to be located across from the main student center on campus beginning in May of 2019. Research will go into getting the globe to spin again, and students will be invited to take part in this effort.

Centennial Park will be another piece of a major Babson campus transformation involving the sports/recreation complex, the library and a new innovation hub.

The globe, once coupled with a 65-foot plaster relief map of the lower 48 states, highlighted the Map and Globe Museum in Coleman Hall when the sphere was dedicated in 1955.

babson globe wellesley
Babson College founder Roger Babson commissioned the globe in the 1950s (photo courtesy of Babson College)

 

The globe once was the largest of its kind, but barely avoided the wrecking ball in the 1980s after falling into disrepair. At one point covered in enamel tiles, the globe underwent a facelift in the early 1990s and Babson rededicated it  in 1993 with fresh vinyl tiles and new satellite imagery.

Babson says the new Centennial Park (not to be confused with Wellesley’s Centennial Reservation) will showcase the school’s history and entrepreneurial accomplishments over the past 100 years. It will also boast a statue of school founder Roger Babson as well as a reworked edition of the Fountain of Flags now seen in front of the Horn Library.

MORE: Wellesley outside art gallery

print

Share

Filed Under: Babson College

Comments

  1. Susan says

    February 20, 2018 at 3:44 pm

    How wonderful to update the globe and give it respect, but, really, with all the words in the English language, couldn’t another name, other than Centennial, be found? Of course Centennial Park is going to be confused with Centennial Reservation which is referred to locally by many of us as Centennial Park. How about a student contest to name the new area? Anything other than Centennial!

    Reply
    • Katherine Murray Leisure MD says

      February 25, 2018 at 6:33 pm

      Agree. Please, Babson, not a second Centennial Park!! Centennial Park #1 includes outdoor fields off Oak Street, includes beautiful meadows and woods abutting the Wellesley Country Club golf courses. It was a joint effort by neighbors and friends including Virginia (Bobby/ Mrs Joseph) Murray of Wellesley Hills. Centennial Park has become a precious natural experience for students, neighbors, and many people and their dogs to enjoy in the suburbs west of Boston. Long live the (first?) Centennial Park of Wellesley!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Linden Square, Wellesley
Deland, Gibson, Wellesley
Wonderful Wellesley, see what's new

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Edge on Science
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Family withdraws plan for large house near Wellesley's Brook Path
  • One final Hunnewell clap-out & shouts of "Judie! Judie! Judie!" for beloved crossing guard
  • Bench near Wellesley High honors Tom Zinck
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise 'Parking, parking, parking' concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • The Wellesley aqueduct bathrooms at Hunnewell Field have landed

Upcoming Events

Jun 28
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Fay School admission information session

Jun 28
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Wellesley affordable housing rental units meeting

Jul 6
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Jul 16
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Wellesley Square July Jubilation Sidewalk Sale

Jul 19
8:00 am - 9:00 am

Fay School admission information session

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • J on Family withdraws plan for large house near Wellesley’s Brook Path
  • Donna on Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area
  • Bubba on Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise ‘Parking, parking, parking’ concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • Branden on Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise ‘Parking, parking, parking’ concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • Local on Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise ‘Parking, parking, parking’ concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • Animals (416)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (576)
  • Beyond Wellesley (47)
  • Books (365)
  • Business (1,501)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (48)
  • Churches (79)
  • Clubs (228)
  • Construction (295)
  • Dump (127)
  • Education (3,108)
    • Babson College (250)
    • Bates Elementary School (16)
    • Dana Hall School (34)
    • Fiske Elementary School (9)
    • Hardy Elementary School (44)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (42)
    • MassBay (55)
    • Schofield Elementary School (24)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (608)
    • Wellesley High School (961)
    • Wellesley Middle School (203)
  • Embracing diversity (69)
  • Entertainment (786)
  • Environment (749)
  • Fashion (141)
  • Finance (14)
  • Fire (162)
  • Food (342)
  • Fundraising (612)
  • Gardens (157)
  • Government (556)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (14)
  • Health (850)
    • COVID-19 (200)
  • Hikes (3)
  • History (388)
  • Holidays (405)
  • Houses (154)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (849)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (6)
  • Letters to the Editor (62)
  • Media (70)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (11)
  • Morses Pond (108)
  • Music (568)
  • Natick Report (29)
  • Neighbors (273)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (73)
  • Outdoors (642)
  • Parenting (62)
  • Police (757)
    • Crime (386)
  • Politics (551)
  • POPS Senior Profile (8)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (331)
  • Religion (131)
  • Restaurants (332)
  • Safety (150)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (120)
  • Shopping (143)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (980)
    • Athlete of the Week (6)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (164)
  • Theatre (392)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (230)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,230)
  • Volunteering (346)
  • Weather (177)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (276)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (19)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed
Deland, Gibson Insurance, Wellesley

© 2022 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login