The Fenway
Encyclopedia
Fenway, commonly referred to as The Fenway, is a mostly one-way, one- to three-lane parkway
that runs along the southern and eastern edges of the Back Bay Fens
in the Fenway-Kenmore
neighborhood of Boston
. As part of the Emerald Necklace
park system mainly designed by Frederick Law Olmsted
in the late 19th century, the Fenway, along with the Back Bay Fens and Park Drive
, connects the Commonwealth Avenue Mall
to the Riverway. For its entire length, the parkway runs along the Muddy River and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
. Like others in the park system, it is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
.
The first parkway of the Emerald Necklace to be constructed, the Fenway's name was coined from an early description of the park that it runs alongside. It was first thought that it would promote a high-class neighborhood, but a majority of its early structures were for educational institutions. Current organizations on the parkway's route include the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
, the Museum of Fine Arts
, and many colleges and universities.
, the landscape architect
of New York City
's Central Park
, began to spend an increasing amount of time in the area and was asked by the park commission in the mid-to-late 1870s to be the judge of a 23-entry design competition to build a new park. Olmsted felt that all of the submitted plans were subpar and either did not take into account flood control or focused too much on it and neglected the public park aspect. The Muddy River and Stony Brook flowed through the Back Bay Fens
(the Fens) which were at the time subject to tidal flow, storm flooding, and sewage discharge. The disappointed park commission then asked Olmsted to be its professional adviser and main landscape architect. Under his direction, what is now called the Emerald Necklace
took shape. He directed the Fens to be dredged, graded, planted, and turned into a seemingly natural salt marsh to absorb and clean the flowing waters. He then built a series of parks stretching from the Fens near the existing Commonwealth Avenue greenway
to Franklin Park
some miles away. The parks were connected to each other by scenic parkway
s, one of which is the Fenway around the eastern and southern sides of the Fens.
When planned, it was thought that the buildings built upon the Fenway would house high-wealth residents and that the whole area would be a high-class neighborhood. As property values rose, however, it was educational institutions that sprung up along the Fenway's route. By 1907, there were twenty-two educationally focused organizations, including nine college and universities which had made their homes on the Fenway. Residential buildings that were built needed their frontages to be approved by the Park Board so that a "poor looking building [did not] depreciate the value of the whole neighborhood". Additionally, the Board had discretion on whether it felt a proposed building was suitable for frontage along the park and parkway. The hope of these building restrictions was that there would be an improvement in the look of the Fenway compared to neighboring streets.
As part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
, the Fenway is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
(DCR), rather than the City of Boston.
were originally referred to as a single group called "the Parkway" by the Boston Park Commissioner, with the current names Fenway, Jamaicaway, and Riverway being authorized by the park commission later that year. Provisional names for the Fenway suggested in 1885 included Rumford, Longview, and Riverdale, although the park commission deemed that naming should pass the following criteria. For the entire parkway system, each roadway name had to end in a consistent manner, "naturally aid[ing] in making the idea of continuity and unity familiar to the public, and, if such termination were short, simple and common, it would be in various ways a convenience". Additionally they wished for the names to be "derived from some topographical or historical local circumstance". For example, "instead of [a parkway] being called the Riverdale Road [it should] be called Riverway". In an 1879 report outlining the plan for the parks and roadways, the area through which the Fenway would travel was described as a "fen
ny meadow". The park commission subsequently chose the "Back Bay Fens" as the name for the park and "Fenway" as the name for the parkway because it traveled through it.
to an intersection with Avenue Louis Pasteur. From there, the left and right lanes become turn-only and the middle lane continues straight. Traffic in the left-turn-only lane changes direction and joins the paralleling Park Drive
along with the oncoming traffic traveling northeast on the Fenway. After the turn-lane drops, the road becomes two-way with one lane in each direction past Simmons College
and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
. It then turns northeast at Louis Prang Street and becomes a one-way two-lane road which passes the Museum of Fine Arts
and parts of Northeastern University. A short spur connects the parkway to Westland Avenue and from there it continues as a two-way road with two lanes in each direction past Berklee College of Music
and the Boston Conservatory
, ending at Boylston Street
. At the Boylston Street intersection stands a monument of novelist and poet John Boyle O'Reilly
which was constructed in 1897.
The Fenway runs alongside the Muddy River for its entire length and the river continues in a stone-paved channel surrounded by a narrow strip of parklands, toward its connection with the Charles River
. In a series of stone bridges and tunnels, it passes under Boylston Street, the Massachusetts Turnpike
, Commonwealth Avenue
, Storrow Drive
, and a series of elevated connecting ramps known as the Bowker Overpass
before joining the Charles. Park Drive, which is located on the other side of the Back Bay Fens, allows for continuous travel in the opposite direction of the Fenway. It begins near where the Fenway ends at Boylston Street and enters the same intersection at Brookline Avenue where the Fenway begins.
Parkway
The term parkway has several distinct principal meanings and numerous synonyms around the world, for either a type of landscaped area or a type of road.Type of landscaped area:...
that runs along the southern and eastern edges of the Back Bay Fens
Back Bay Fens
The Back Bay Fens, most commonly called simply The Fens, is a parkland and urban wild in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to serve as a link in the Emerald Necklace park system, the Fens gives its name to the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, and thereby to...
in the Fenway-Kenmore
Fenway-Kenmore
Fenway–Kenmore is an official neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. While it is considered one neighborhood for administrative purposes, it is composed of numerous distinct sections and in casual conversation are almost always referred to as "Fenway," "Kenmore Square," or "Kenmore."...
neighborhood of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. As part of the Emerald Necklace
Emerald Necklace
The Emerald Necklace consists of an chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula, although it was never fully constructed.-Overview:The Necklace...
park system mainly designed by Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
in the late 19th century, the Fenway, along with the Back Bay Fens and Park Drive
Park Drive (parkway)
Park Drive is a mostly one-way, one- to two-lane parkway in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston that runs along the northern and western edges of the Back Bay Fens before ending at Mountfort Street...
, connects the Commonwealth Avenue Mall
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Commonwealth Avenue is a major street in the cities of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. It begins at the western edge of the Public Garden, and continues west through the neighborhoods of the Back Bay, Kenmore Square, Allston, Brighton and Chestnut Hill...
to the Riverway. For its entire length, the parkway runs along the Muddy River and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
The Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston is a system of reservations, parks, parkways and roads under the control of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation in and around Boston that has been in existence for over a century...
. Like others in the park system, it is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)
The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...
.
The first parkway of the Emerald Necklace to be constructed, the Fenway's name was coined from an early description of the park that it runs alongside. It was first thought that it would promote a high-class neighborhood, but a majority of its early structures were for educational institutions. Current organizations on the parkway's route include the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
, the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, and many colleges and universities.
Background
In 1875, the voters of the City of Boston and the Massachusetts legislature approved the creation of a park commission in order to promote the creation of public parks in the city. Frederick Law OlmstedFrederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, the landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, began to spend an increasing amount of time in the area and was asked by the park commission in the mid-to-late 1870s to be the judge of a 23-entry design competition to build a new park. Olmsted felt that all of the submitted plans were subpar and either did not take into account flood control or focused too much on it and neglected the public park aspect. The Muddy River and Stony Brook flowed through the Back Bay Fens
Back Bay Fens
The Back Bay Fens, most commonly called simply The Fens, is a parkland and urban wild in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to serve as a link in the Emerald Necklace park system, the Fens gives its name to the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, and thereby to...
(the Fens) which were at the time subject to tidal flow, storm flooding, and sewage discharge. The disappointed park commission then asked Olmsted to be its professional adviser and main landscape architect. Under his direction, what is now called the Emerald Necklace
Emerald Necklace
The Emerald Necklace consists of an chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula, although it was never fully constructed.-Overview:The Necklace...
took shape. He directed the Fens to be dredged, graded, planted, and turned into a seemingly natural salt marsh to absorb and clean the flowing waters. He then built a series of parks stretching from the Fens near the existing Commonwealth Avenue greenway
Greenway (landscape)
A greenway is a long, narrow piece of land, often used for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle user traffic, and sometimes for streetcar, light rail or retail uses.- Terminology :...
to Franklin Park
Franklin Park, Boston
Franklin Park, a partially wooded parkland in the Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts, is maintained by the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department...
some miles away. The parks were connected to each other by scenic parkway
Parkway
The term parkway has several distinct principal meanings and numerous synonyms around the world, for either a type of landscaped area or a type of road.Type of landscaped area:...
s, one of which is the Fenway around the eastern and southern sides of the Fens.
When planned, it was thought that the buildings built upon the Fenway would house high-wealth residents and that the whole area would be a high-class neighborhood. As property values rose, however, it was educational institutions that sprung up along the Fenway's route. By 1907, there were twenty-two educationally focused organizations, including nine college and universities which had made their homes on the Fenway. Residential buildings that were built needed their frontages to be approved by the Park Board so that a "poor looking building [did not] depreciate the value of the whole neighborhood". Additionally, the Board had discretion on whether it felt a proposed building was suitable for frontage along the park and parkway. The hope of these building restrictions was that there would be an improvement in the look of the Fenway compared to neighboring streets.
As part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
The Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston is a system of reservations, parks, parkways and roads under the control of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation in and around Boston that has been in existence for over a century...
, the Fenway is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)
The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...
(DCR), rather than the City of Boston.
Naming
In 1887, the stretch of parkways from Boylston Street to Jamaica PondJamaica Pond
Jamaica Pond is a kettle pond, part of the Emerald Necklace of parks in Boston designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The pond and park are in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, close to the border of Brookline...
were originally referred to as a single group called "the Parkway" by the Boston Park Commissioner, with the current names Fenway, Jamaicaway, and Riverway being authorized by the park commission later that year. Provisional names for the Fenway suggested in 1885 included Rumford, Longview, and Riverdale, although the park commission deemed that naming should pass the following criteria. For the entire parkway system, each roadway name had to end in a consistent manner, "naturally aid[ing] in making the idea of continuity and unity familiar to the public, and, if such termination were short, simple and common, it would be in various ways a convenience". Additionally they wished for the names to be "derived from some topographical or historical local circumstance". For example, "instead of [a parkway] being called the Riverdale Road [it should] be called Riverway". In an 1879 report outlining the plan for the parks and roadways, the area through which the Fenway would travel was described as a "fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
ny meadow". The park commission subsequently chose the "Back Bay Fens" as the name for the park and "Fenway" as the name for the parkway because it traveled through it.
Construction
The Fenway was the first of the Olmsted parkways to be built and work began on it in the 1880s, while work on the others began in the 1890s. Work started at the Boylston Street connection and much of the curbstone and gutters in the area had been laid by 1885. By 1888, the roadway was complete from Boylston Street to Westland Avenue, but was prevented from continuing further south because of a delay in securing more fill. The Boston City Engineer's report cited a hold up in acquiring property from there to the Brookline Avenue terminus, as the problem since the fill was the dredged material from the new path of the Muddy River. Work continued after the remainder of the land was acquired and the roadway was complete up to the intersection of Parker and Huntington Avenue (today Forsyth Way at the Museum of Fine Arts) by 1890. Construction of the parkway concluded in early 1893 and the completed length of the Fenway opened shortly after.Route description
The Fenway begins at the intersection of Brookline Avenue and the Riverway, heading southeast with three one-way lanes past Emmanuel CollegeEmmanuel College
Emmanuel College may refer to one of several academic institutions:in Australia* Emmanuel College, University of Queensland, part of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia...
to an intersection with Avenue Louis Pasteur. From there, the left and right lanes become turn-only and the middle lane continues straight. Traffic in the left-turn-only lane changes direction and joins the paralleling Park Drive
Park Drive (parkway)
Park Drive is a mostly one-way, one- to two-lane parkway in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston that runs along the northern and western edges of the Back Bay Fens before ending at Mountfort Street...
along with the oncoming traffic traveling northeast on the Fenway. After the turn-lane drops, the road becomes two-way with one lane in each direction past Simmons College
Simmons College (Massachusetts)
Simmons College, established in 1899, is a private women's undergraduate college and private co-educational graduate school in Boston, Massachusetts.-History:Simmons was founded in 1899 with a bequest by John Simmons a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Boston...
and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
. It then turns northeast at Louis Prang Street and becomes a one-way two-lane road which passes the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
and parts of Northeastern University. A short spur connects the parkway to Westland Avenue and from there it continues as a two-way road with two lanes in each direction past Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
and the Boston Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...
, ending at Boylston Street
Boylston Street
Boylston Street is the name of a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. Another Boylston Street runs through Boston's western suburbs....
. At the Boylston Street intersection stands a monument of novelist and poet John Boyle O'Reilly
John Boyle O'Reilly
John Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia...
which was constructed in 1897.
The Fenway runs alongside the Muddy River for its entire length and the river continues in a stone-paved channel surrounded by a narrow strip of parklands, toward its connection with the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
. In a series of stone bridges and tunnels, it passes under Boylston Street, the Massachusetts Turnpike
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...
, Commonwealth Avenue
Commonwealth Avenue
Commonwealth Avenue is an avenue which may refer to:in Australia*Commonwealth Avenue, Canberrain the Philippines*Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon Cityin Singapore*Commonwealth Avenue, Singaporein the United States...
, Storrow Drive
Storrow Drive
Storrow Drive is a major cross town expressway in Boston, Massachusetts, running south and west from Leverett Circle along the Charles River. It is a parkway—it is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not permitted on it...
, and a series of elevated connecting ramps known as the Bowker Overpass
Bowker Overpass
The Bowker Overpass is a steel beam bridge with a suspended deck carrying Charlesgate Street over Commonwealth Avenue, Beacon Street, and Interstate 90. It connects Boylston Street to Storrow Drive. It runs parallel to the Muddy River...
before joining the Charles. Park Drive, which is located on the other side of the Back Bay Fens, allows for continuous travel in the opposite direction of the Fenway. It begins near where the Fenway ends at Boylston Street and enters the same intersection at Brookline Avenue where the Fenway begins.