View Boston Back Bay luxury condos for sale.
Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood is considered one of the nation’s most
historic and best preserved examples of 19th
Century urban design, with its
elegant Victorian and Century Revival row-houses and tree-lined streets
laid out in a grid system connected to the Boston Public Garden to the east
and the Fens parklands to the west.Indeed, the Back Bay, like nearby Beacon Hill,
is listed on the NationalRegister of Historic Places and is perhaps Boston’s most European-like
district, with its mix of old residential buildings and ground-level restaurants,
boutiques, art galleries, outdoor cafes and other retail shops running along
the quaint Newbury Street and along the more bustling Boylston Street.
Unlike Beacon Hill, the Back Bay has a strong commercial office-building
component, with the striking Hancock Tower (designed by famed architect
I.M. Pei) in Copley Square and the nearby Prudential Center (and its
scores of shops), and modern multi-family condo and apartment structures
tucked into the historic fabric of the neighborhood. With a population of
about 18,000 residents and tens of thousands of additional workers,
shoppers and tourists streaming through the streets each day, the Back
Bay has more of a true “24/7” feel than its sister-neighborhood Beacon Hill.
Before it became one of the most desirable places to live and work in
Boston, the Back Bay was literally a shallow, marshy bay on the backside
of Boston Harbor and was filled in starting in the mid-1800s, with the
explicit goal of creating a beautiful neighborhood influenced by the design
of Paris.
At the heart of the Back Bay is Copley Square, a handsome brick plaza
surrounded by the Boston Public Library, the Hancock Tower, Trinity
Church, the old Copley Square Hotel (previously a museum and now the
Fairmont Copley), and ground-level retail shops and the Old South Church
along Boylston Street.
To the north, running east and west, is the retail Newbury Street and blocks
of historic residential row-houses along scenic streets such as
Commonwealth Avenue (itself an official park) and Marlborough Street,
considered one of the most handsome residential streets in the nation. To
the very north lies the Charles River, Charles River Esplanade park system
and the famous Hatch Shell, where the Boston Pops plays each Fourth of
July.
To the west lies the Prudential Center, the Hynes Auditorium, the Berklee
School of Music, Symphony Hall and the striking First Church of Christ,
Scientist plaza, all flowing into the Fens, home of Northeastern University,
the Museum of Fine Arts and Boston’s Kenmore Square, where the Boston
Rex Sox play at the famed Fenway Park. To the south, Back Bay ends at
approximately Columbus Avenue, where the elegant South End residential
neighborhood begins.
A highly walkable neighborhood Back Bay is also blessed with excellent
public transit services, including the Green Line subways stations at
Arlington, Copley Square, Prudential Center, Hynes Auditorium, and
Symphony Hall. The Back Bay Station connects to the Orange Line and
MBTA commuter and Amtrak rail stops.
In all, Back Bay is a beloved neighborhood of historic charm and modern
amenities, with thousands of old and new residential units available for
renters and owners alike who want to experience quaint but lively urban
life.
