• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

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

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Wellesley topiary: A seahorse, of course?

January 17, 2020 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

Some say it’s obvious that the topiary in front of One Hollis St., at the intersection of Linden Street in Wellesley, is a seahorse.

topiary linden st wellesley

But that topiary is also different things to others, as we recently learned when posing a question on our Facebook page about it: “Here we are in 2020, still asking: What is this Linden St topiary supposed to be?”

My gut has told me it’s a seahorse. Why a seahorse in the middle of Wellesley? Why not.

But I’ve also wondered if it might be a cat.

Linden St topiari

Others who responded to the photo shown above suggested it might be an elephant spinning. Or more specifically, Babar the Elephant’s head.

“It was a seahorse – now it’s a badly groomed show poodle,” wrote one Swellesley regular.

#Wellesley #topiary what is it? pic.twitter.com/lQzRkLIavO

— swellesley (@swellesley) January 16, 2020

A guy straddling an elephant and wearing boxing gloves, chimed in another. A Twitter follower asserted: “Lobstah of course.”

We reached out to the property manager of One Hollis St.. to see if they might have any particulars on the ornamental shrubbery and what it’s future might hold. We haven’t heard back, but will update this post if we do.

While less ambitious than the postcard-worthy topiary on Hunnewell property abutting Lake Waban, the Hollis Street landmark has a wider audience given its proximity to the Wellesley Square train station and Linden Square shopping center.

As for what the Hollis Street topiary is supposed to be, one reader offers this viewpoint: “Anything one imagines.”

[poll id=”8″]

Topiary along Lake Waban.

 

More: Wellesley’s Outdoor Art Gallery

donate box love local

print

Share

Filed Under: Art, Environment

Comments

  1. Marie Brown says

    January 17, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    When I first rented office space at 1 Hollis
    St., I asked the late owner, Ron Labadini, who created the topiary, what was the topiary supposed to be. He answered “anything you want it to be.” We all miss Ron and his dedication to making our office building the pride of Wellesley!

    Reply
    • Bob Brown says

      January 17, 2020 at 3:49 pm

      Thanks for sharing this Marie,

      Bob

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Write Ahead

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Admit Fit, Wellesley
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • 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 here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Events Calendar

« January 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
Thu 21

Zero Carbon Home webinar

January 21 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Tue 26

Rum tasting and history talk

January 26 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Wed 27

Online history lecture: Petticoat Whalers

January 27 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Thu 28

January 28 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Most Read Posts

  • Nearly half of Wellesley's available restaurant alcohol licenses are gathering dust
  • Natick issues boil water alert due to E. coli, some Wellesley homes affected
  • 10 takeaways from the Town of Wellesley's FY20 annual report
  • Bench at baseball field honors Wellesley's Harry Clark
  • Pinnacle Residential Properties: the concept of home & roots

Pages

  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Please support our advertisers—they support us
  • Embracing diversity in Wellesley
  • Wellesley, MA Police logs
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Bob Brown on “I Care a Lot” movie that filmed in Wellesley making Netflix debut
  • Juli on “I Care a Lot” movie that filmed in Wellesley making Netflix debut
  • Bob Brown on “I Care a Lot” movie that filmed in Wellesley making Netflix debut
  • Russ Barbour on “I Care a Lot” movie that filmed in Wellesley making Netflix debut
  • Paul Starcevich on Wellesley loses Everett (“Eddie”) Knowles, RDF volunteer, medical miracle

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 (4)
  • Animals (377)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (534)
  • Beyond Wellesley (28)
  • Books (343)
  • Business (1,357)
  • Camp (1)
  • Careers/jobs (44)
  • Churches (72)
  • Clubs (207)
  • Construction (280)
  • Dump (113)
  • Education (2,878)
    • Babson College (239)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (47)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (598)
    • Wellesley High School (883)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (37)
  • Entertainment (722)
  • Environment (665)
  • Fashion (133)
  • Finance (12)
  • Fire (141)
  • Food (327)
  • Fundraising (559)
  • Gardens (136)
  • Government (385)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (736)
    • COVID-19 (133)
  • History (358)
  • Holidays (365)
  • Houses (118)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (814)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (5)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (5)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (96)
  • Music (543)
  • Natick Report (27)
  • Neighbors (243)
  • Obituaries (58)
  • Outdoors (582)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (688)
    • Crime (345)
  • Politics (534)
  • Real estate (286)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (302)
  • Safety (142)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (107)
  • Shopping (121)
  • Sports (897)
  • STEM (104)
  • Technology (154)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (209)
  • Travel (11)
  • Uncategorized (1,205)
  • Volunteering (317)
  • Weather (161)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (258)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login