Fenway-Kenmore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fenway-Kenmore is an area of Boston, Massachusetts. While it can be considered one neighborhood for administrative purposes, in reality it is composed of numerous neighborhoods with two very different feels, and is rarely referred to as a single entity in casual conversation ("The Fenway," and "Kenmore Square" or simply "Kenmore", are far more commonly spoken).

Fenway Park

It is the home of Fenway Park, the famous Citgo sign, Kenmore Square, Northeastern University, parts of Boston University, Berklee College of Music, The Boston Conservatory, Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Art, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Simmons College, Wheelock College, New England School of Photography, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Fenway is a neighborhood bounded on the south by Mission Hill, the Back Bay Fens and Columbus Avenue, on the north by the Mass Pike, and on the west by Mission Hill. Fenway is one of the last middle class neighborhoods left in downtown Boston. The neighborhood is almost entirely five- to six-story walk-up apartment buildings, with small, independently owned shops scattered throughout. Racially, Fenway is predominantly white but also has a large population of Asian & African Americans. This area provides housing for many students who attend the surrounding colleges and universities unable to provide on-campus living arrangements. The crime-rate in the neighborhood remains relatively low. The neighborhood feels somewhat isolated from the rest of downtown due to the large park and major highway that act as the neighborhood’s boundaries.

With its proximity to major parks, Back Bay, Boston University, Northeastern University and the Longwood cultural district, Fenway may be Boston's last untapped real estate gem. In the last few years, development in the Fenway has picked up, particularly from developer Samuels and Associates. Recent developments include the renovation of the Landmark Center, which now houses a Best Buy, Regal Cinemas, Bed Bath & Beyond, Longhorn Steakhouse, Staples, and other retailers and office space; the 2003 addition of Hotel Commonwealth on the site of the Rathskeller bar; and the 576-unit, 17-floor Trilogy apartment building on Brookline Avenue and Boylston Street. Currently, another development named 1330 Bolyston is under construction, and will contain 210 condos and 85,000 square feet of office space contained within 14 floors.

Planned developments include a tower, of perhaps 30 floors and reminiscent of the Flatiron Building in NYC, at the confluence of Bolyston Street and Brookline Avenue. Other plans include the renovation of the Howard Johnson motel on Bolyston Street, to be rehabbed as an upscale hotel. Additionally, developer John Rosenthal is planning to build a complex named One Kenmore over the Mass Pike alongside the Beacon Street Bridge, comprising 525 units in one 17 floor tower and one 20 floor tower. Concerning infrastructure, the MBTA is planning to renovate the currently under-lit Fenway Green Line stop, and the nearby Yawkey Way Commuter Rail Station. Finally, the Museum of Fine Arts is in the midst of a $425 million expansion, and the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum is contemplating the construction of a second building.

The Citgo Sign

Kenmore is located north and west of Fenway, and shares many of the same attributes of Fenway. Fenway Park is in fact located in Kenmore, right across the Mass Pike from Kenmore Square. The area is however less isolated and has a slightly more upscale atmosphere due to its proximity to the suburb of Brookline. Many students from nearby Boston University and Northeastern University reside in the neighborhood. The area is almost entirely brick, walk-up buildings and brownstone townhouses, although over the last 20 years almost every residential building in Kenmore has been purchased by Boston University and turned into dorms, especially in the Audubon Circle area between Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

The Fenway is separated from the Back Bay neighborhood by the Muddy River, which flows through the Back Bay Fens and into the Charles River.

Neighborhoods in Boston, Massachusetts
Allston/Brighton · Back Bay · Beacon Hill · Charlestown · Chinatown · Dorchester · Downtown Crossing · East Boston · Fenway-Kenmore · Government Center · Hyde Park · Jamaica Plain · Longwood · Mattapan · Mission Hill · North End · Roslindale · Roxbury · South Boston · South End · West End · West Roxbury