A Brief History of the Fenway Cultural District

Discover Boston's most lively & distinguished neighborhood - rich in history& culture!

As the 20th century dawned, giants walked the streets of Boston. Patrons stepped forward to support art and culture, creating magnificent institutions devoted to music, art, and theatre. Symphony Hall came in 1900, Horticultural Hall in 1901, and soon the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in January 1903. Arts patron Eban Jordan stepped forward to build New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall (October 1903), widely recognized as one of the finest concert halls in the world. Extraordinary collections would come to be housed nearby in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1909). Arts and culture have continued to grow in this area throughout the 20th century. In 1945, Berklee College of Music opened to become the world's largest independent music college and the premier institution for the study of contemporary music. Berklee was the first college in America to offer the guitar as a principal instrument.

Intellectual life in the Fenway was fostered at the turn of the century through the opening of schools and colleges. Simmons College (1899) opened as the first four-year college in the nation to provide both liberal arts and career preparation for women. Emmanuel College (1919) stands historically as the first Catholic College for women in the country, and has since become a prestigious coeducational liberal arts college. Massachusetts College of Art (1873) was the first public college of art in the nation, and remains the largest state school devoted to art education in the nation. Boston Latin High School (1635) was the nation's first public school. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (1823) is the oldest college in Boston, while Northeastern University (1898), located in the heart of the district, is a leader in cooperative education. The District is also home to Harvard School of Public Health, Forsyth Institute (1910), Wentworth Institute of Technology (1904), & Wheelock College (1888), founded by Lucy Wheelock, a pioneer in the American kindergarten movement.

Gardens, sports, and recreation have also been an important part of the growth of the Fenway. The magnificent park system envisioned by Frederick Law Olmsted was completed in 1895 and totalled some 200 acres of parkland within the City of Boston. Affectionately known as the Emerald Necklace, this park offers relief from the pollution, noise, and overcrowding of city life, the Back Bay Fens section of this Olmstead's park system are what give the Fenway it's name. Transformed from a salt- to a fresh-water marsh after 1910 with the creation of the Charles River Dam, the Back Bay Fens encompasses a variety of features; the elegant Rose Garden, War Memorials, and the community "Victory Garden". To build health of spirit, mind and body the first YMCA in the U.S. was opened in Boston in 1851. The Central Branch of the YMCA of Greater Boston opened on Huntington Avenue in 1912, the same year as Fenway Park, the beloved home to the Boston Red Sox, opened to excited sports fans anxious to see a game in their ball park.

The Fenway Alliance became partners with the City of Boston in developing a vibrant, exciting Cultural District. Proclaimed by the Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, in February 1999, the Fenway Cultural District is rich in cultural assets that make it a premier destination in New England.