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West Boston

From the ballpark in Fenway to Samuel Adams Brewery in Jamaica Plain, west Boston neighborhoods have many draws for visitors. Admire churches in Mission Hill or the Arnold Arboretum near Roslindale. The subway provides easy access to many of these neighborhoods via the Green and Orange lines.

Fenway

A departure from its early days as a swampland, Fenway now boasts with sports, culture, and parks. Most prominent is Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox—the neighborhood’s treasured pride. The first World Series was played at Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds in 1903. Then called the Boston Americas, the team won the series over the Pittsburgh Pirates. This original ballpark no longer stands, but the old grounds are part of Northeastern University.

Like the ballpark, Fenway’s illuminated CITGO sign also serves as a neighborhood landmark.

Impressive local museums include the gardens and galleries at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as well as collections of art, jewelry, and textiles at the Museum of Fine Arts. Spectators can catch the last miles of the Boston Marathon along Boylston Street in Fenway. Heritage buffs will appreciate the legacy of the Boston Latin School. The school moved its premises to Fenway in 1922 and is the oldest public school in the U.S.

Local parks include Back Bay Fens Park, which offers ambling paths, gardens, and a stretch of the Muddy River.

Mission Hill

Crowned by the two spires of Mission Church (officially called Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help), the Mission Hill neighborhood climbs Parker Hill. Fruit orchards and country estates have been built up into row houses and three-story homes built in a Queen Anne style. At Harvard Medical School, five white buildings surround a grassy quad. The school was constructed in 1906.

Brewing was the neighborhood’s main industry in the 1870s, until prohibition thwarted it, and the old brick breweries still stand along the Stony Brook.

Jamaica Plain

Often called just “JP,” Jamaica Plain has varied attractions ranging from theater to breweries. The neighborhood is home to the historic theater troupe of the Footlight Club and a museum at a one-time country estate, the Loring-Greenough House. The Samuel Adams Brewery is also in Jamaica Plain and offers brewery tours with samples.

Jamaica Pond is the neighborhood’s largest park, with walking paths, a boathouse, and a bandstand. Along with Jamaica Pond, the Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park Zoo are part of Boston’s Emerald Necklace—a string of parks that includes the Boston Commons, Public Garden, and Back Bay Fens Park.

Allston-Brighton

Once known for its horticulture, agriculture, and livestock, Allston and Brighton have since become commuter communities. Allston features some riverside buildings of Harvard University. Connected to Cambridge by bridges, the complex includes the grand Harvard Stadium and Harvard Business School. In Brighton the live music stage at Brighton Music Hall is a favorite with the neighborhood’s many students.

Roslindale

Once a streetcar suburb of Boston, commuters still travel to the city center from Roslindale, which is know for its village-like feel. Like Jamaica Plain, Roslindale borders the 265-acre Arnold Arboretum. Managed by Harvard University, the arboretum includes more than 15,000 trees. Other parks in the neighborhood include triangular Adams Park.

West Roxbury

Now separate from Roxbury, West Roxbury is a neighborhood filled with parks, trees, and family homes. Once a landfill, Millennium Park is one of Boston’s largest parks. The Westerly Burial Ground has graves of veterans from the American Revolutionary and Civil wars.

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