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, much of Boston University, Berklee College of Music, The Boston Conservatory, Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Art, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Simmons College, and the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum 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 almost entirely comprised of 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. 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. Due to aging buildings, a lack of parking and little interest from fellow city dwellers, however, significant real estate development does not appear to be in the near future.

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 Kenmore and Fenway sections are roughly divided 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