Boylston Street

Name

As early as 1722, Boylston Street, then a short road on the outskirts of the town of Boston, was known as Frogg Lane or Frog Lane. It was later renamed for Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747–1828), a philanthropist and benefactor of Harvard University. Boylston, who was a descendant of Zabdiel Boylston, was born in Boston and spent much of his life in it. Boylston Market, and the town of Boylston, Massachusetts, were also named for him.

Route

From east to west, Boston's Boylston Street begins at the intersection of Essex Street and Washington Street in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood at the edge of Downtown Boston. It is a one-way street running west-to-east from Tremont Street to Washington Street. West of Tremont Street, it runs along the southern edge of the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden. West of Arlington Street, it is a one-way street running eastbound, forming a major traffic artery and commercial street through the Back Bay neighborhood, where it passes along the north side of Copley Square. West of the Back Bay neighborhood, the street intersects with the Fenway to form the northern boundary of the Back Bay Fens. Here it intersects with the Charlesgate viaduct, connecting to Storrow Drive. West of this intersection, the street carries traffic in both directions as a two-way, six-lane street through Boston's Fenway neighborhood. It runs through high-rise, mixed-use buildings one block south of Fenway Park before ending at the intersection of Park Drive, Brookline Avenue, and the Riverway.

The MIT Rogers Building was at 497 Boylston Street when MIT had its original campus in Boston, before it moved to Cambridge in 1916. A plaque on the building serves as a commemoration.

On April 15, 2013, 666 Boylston Street was the scene of two explosive detonations that occurred during the running of the 117th Boston marathon, which killed three people and wounded at least 264.

Landmarks

• 500 Boylston Street – a postmodern office building
• 941–955 Boylston Street – houses a fire station, and is also now home to the Institute of Contemporary Art, part of Boston Architectural College
• Berklee College of Music
• Boston Public Library
• Emerson College – several buildings are located along the street across from Boston Common
• Hynes Convention Center
• Massachusetts Historical Society – 1154 Boylston Street
• Old South Church
• Saint Clement's Eucharistic Shrine
• Saint Francis House – a former Boston Edison Electric Illuminating Company building
• Steinert Hall
• Trinity Church

Transportation

The MBTA Green Line follows Boylston Street in Back Bay, with stops at Boylston, Arlington, Copley, and Hynes Convention Center.

Notable establishments

• Dani's Queer Bar
• Cafe 939

References

References

1. Bonner, John. (1722). "The town of Boston in New England". The Library of Congress.
2. [http://www.princetonmahistory.org/People/boylston.html "Ward Nicholas Boylston"] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-05-17 , Princeton (Massachusetts) Historical Society)
3. Drake, Samuel Adams. [https://books.google.com/books?id=m3sUAAAAYAAJ ''Old landmarks and historic personages of Boston'']. Boston : James R. Osgood and Co., 1873.
4. Bentinck-Smith, William, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080886 "Nicholas Boylston and His Harvard Chair"], ''Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society'', Third Series, Vol. 93, (1981), pp. 17-39
5. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jy_QAAAAMAAJ "A Letter from Nicholas Boylston (1771?-1839)"], ''Bulletin of the Public library of the city of Boston'', The Trustees, 1921. Cf.pp.307-309.
6. link. (2013-11-26 , [[Massachusetts Historical Society]].)
7. [http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/mithistory/presidents-reports/1921.pdf "Massachusetts Institute of Technology : President's Report 1921"] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-05-23 . Mentions the Rogers Building on Boylston Street in Boston.)
8. "Massachusetts Historical Society: 1154 Boylston Street in Photographs".
9. (2024-09-12). "Dani's Queer Bar opens in former Pour House location in Boston's Back Bay".
10. Edwards, Tanya. (2024-09-19). "Boston's First Femme Bar in Decades, Dani's Queer Bar, Has Opened".
11. Cifarelli, David. (2024-09-12). "Boston queer bar dedicated to non-binary LGBTQ+ members makes debut".