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). Furthermore, the Fenway neighborhood is divided into two distinct sub-neighborhoods commonly referred to as the East Fenway/Symphony and the West Fenway. Fenway is named after The Fenway, a main thoroughfare laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted.

It is the home of Fenway Park, the famous Citgo sign, Kenmore Square, The Art Institute of Boston, The Forsyth Institute, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Northeastern University, the New England Conservatory, portions of Boston University (including the Myles Standish Residence Hall), portions of the Harvard Medical School, Berklee College of Music, The Boston Conservatory, Massachusetts College of Art, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Simmons College, Wheelock College, Emmanuel College, the New England School of Photography, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The 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. The neighborhood consists almost entirely of five- to six-story 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 East Fenway remains largely student populated whereas the West Fenway was formerly known as a student haven because of its proximity to many of the city's colleges and universities, but due to the rising interest in the neighborhood as well as the high rents, it has become full of young professionals and families many of whom work in the neighboring Longwood Medical and Academic Area. The crime-rate in the neighborhood remains relatively low.

In the last few years, development in the Fenway has picked up, particularly from developer Samuels and Associates.^[1] Recent developments include the renovation of the Landmark Center; 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. 1330 Boylston, a second high-rise apartment building, was completed in 2008 and contains 210 apartments, 85,000 square feet (7,900 m²) of office space contained within 10 floors and the new home of Fenway Health.

Planned developments include a 24-story mixed use development at the confluence of Bolyston Street and Brookline Avenue, likely including retail, dining, and luxury hotel/apartments.^[2][3] 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, in 2007 the MBTA renovated the Fenway Green Line stop, and is planning to renovate the nearby Yawkey Way Commuter Rail Station.^{[citation needed]} 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.

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. 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.

[edit] Transportation

The neighborhood is ringed by the following MBTA Green Line stops:

• Hynes- B, C, D
• Kenmore - B, C, D
• Fenway - D
• Symphony - E
• Northeastern - E
• Museum of Fine Arts - E

Yawkey Station on the Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail is also in the neighborhood. Fenway-Kenmore is served by a number of MBTA buses.

The Fenway and Park Drive circulate around The Fens. Boylston Street is a major east-west route, as are Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue, which cross at Kenmore Square. Huntington Avenue (Route 9) is on the southern border. Brookline Avenue proceeds southwest from Kenmore Square. Massachusetts Avenue forms the eastern border, and is a major north-south route. There is no access to the Massachusetts Turnpike, except westbound only at Massachusetts Avenue and Newbury Street.

[edit] External links

• Fenway-Kenmore on Wikitravel

[edit] Notes and references

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