History of the Swan Boat

Did you know that Victorian swan boats were inspired by an opera? Boston resident Robert Paget was searching for a way to conceal the machinery and human driver of a new, foot-powered paddleboat he invented in 1877. When he recalled seeing Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin,” the idea of covering his boats with giant, carved swans came to him. In the opera, the hero searches for the love of his life in a boat drawn by a swan.