Boston/Fenway-Kenmore

Home of The Fens, The Fenway, Fenway Park, the Citgo Sign, and Kenmore Square, among many other things - including several colleges and fine arts institutions.

The Fenway is a road that circles around The Fens, which is a park. Fenway Park is not a park with grass and trees, but a baseball stadium where the Boston Red Sox play. It is located across the Mass Pike from Kenmore Square (accessible via sidewalk).

In Kenmore Square (which is not so much a square as an incredibly confusing collision of several main avenues, cross streets, and a T stop), you will find a large Barnes and Noble, to which the famous Citgo Sign is attached. There is no associated Citgo gas station; the sign is now a historical landmark.

"Fenway" is the part of the neighborhood east of the Fens; "Kenmore" might be considered to surround Kenmore Square. To the southwest lies the Longwood Medical Area and Brookline; to the southeast, the South End; to the north, the Charles River; to the northeast, the Back Bay, the Prudential, and Copley Square.

There are many beautiful brownstones in this neighborhood, which is something of an aesthetic and historical extension of the Back Bay, which lies to the east. The "Back Bay" Fens is part of the Emerald Necklace (a system of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted), which starts here and extends out all the way to Franklin Park. After a slight discontinuity, green space continues down the median of Commonwealth Avenue to the Public Garden and Boston Common. The Muddy River runs through the Fens and out to the Charles River. The park includes shady, sloping lawns and benches for lounging and watching the reeds rustle; rustic stone bridges for admiring the water and its avian inhabitants; a rose garden; a playground; a reserved area for local residents to have "community gardens"; and occasional impromptu performances by Berklee students or The Anonymous Bagpiper of The Fens.

The reeds provide a safe haven from prying eyes, and The Fens has gained a reputation as a nighttime rendezvous point for seekers of anonymous homosexual relations. It's quite safe during the day, but should probably be avoided at night. Also avoid straying too far up Massachusetts Avenue (into Roxbury) after dark.

Various buildings associated with Northeastern University and Boston University may be found on The Avenue of the Arts (Huntington Ave.) and on Commonwealth Ave (respectively) and in the surrounding areas. The Berklee College of Music, Emmanuel College, and Simmons College are on and around The Fenway.

The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) also sits on The Fenway (technically, its address is 465 Huntington Avenue). It has extensive collections of fine art from many different genres and historical periods. A proper visit can take an entire day or multiple days for those who like to linger. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is also nearby.

Massachusetts Avenue passes by on the northeast side of this area, and has a number of eateries, a hardware store, and a CVS. A nice Thai (Pan Thai, 14A Westland Ave., 617-236-7907, http://www.panthairestaurant.com/ ) restaurant and a Whole Foods Market are hidden around the corner from Mass Ave. on Westland Ave.

At the intersection of Massachusetts and Huntington Avenues is Symphony Hall, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

To the east of Massachusetts Avenue lies the First Church of Christ Scientist (the Mother Church of Christian Science, the religion founded by Mary Baker Eddy). The world headquarters feature a reading room, a fountain children can play in, a spectacular reflecting pool (for reflecting light and thought, not for wading), the complex figure of the main cathedral, the modern yet serene lines of the towering administrative buildings. It's a wonderful spot for photos or just admiration.

Boston/Fenway-Kenmore

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