Huntington Avenue (Boston)
Encyclopedia
Huntington Avenue is a secondary thoroughfare
in the city of Boston, Massachusetts beginning at Copley Square
, and continuing west through the Back Bay
, Fenway
, Longwood
, and Mission Hill
neighborhoods. Huntington Avenue is signed as Massachusetts Route 9
.
and the buildings of the Prudential Center
shopping and office complex.
Also known as the Avenue of the Arts, the middle portion of Huntington Avenue is lined by many significant artistic venues and educational institutions in Boston, including Symphony Hall
, Horticultural Hall
, the New England Conservatory, Northeastern University, the Boston University
Theatre (Huntington Theatre Company's mainstage), the Museum of Fine Arts
, Wentworth Institute of Technology
and the Massachusetts College of Art
. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
is also only about a block from Huntington Avenue.
Near the Longwood Medical Area the street touches upon a number of medical research institutions and hospital complexes, including the Harvard Medical School
.
At the point at which the street reaches the overpass of the Jamaicaway and the border of the town of Brookline
, South Huntington Avenue runs towards Jamaica Plain Center and Route 9 continues west into Brookline as Boylston Street
.
Green Line
roughly follows Huntington Avenue underground from Copley Square until it rises above ground at the Northeastern Portal
. It then operates in a dedicated median
of Huntington Avenue between Northeastern University
and the Brigham Circle
stop, where trains begin operating on the street mixed with traffic.
The street was named for Ralph Huntington (1784–1866). Huntington was one of the men who moved to have the Back Bay filled in. He donated money to many of the institutions in the Back Bay and later the Fenway.
Huntington Avenue, near Northeastern University, was the site of the old Boston Red Sox stadium and site of the first World Series game in 1903
. A statue of Cy Young stands on the current day Northeastern campus to commemorate the location of the pitcher's mound of the Huntington Avenue Grounds
ballpark.
Thoroughfare
A thoroughfare is a place of transportation intended to connect one location to another. Highways, roads, and trails are examples of thoroughfares used by a variety of general traffic. On land a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a rough trail to multi-lane highway with grade separated...
in the city of Boston, Massachusetts beginning at Copley Square
Copley Square
Copley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
, and continuing west through the Back Bay
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts famous for its rows of Victorian brownstone homes, which are considered one of the best-preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States, as well as numerous architecturally significant individual...
, Fenway
Fenway-Kenmore
Fenway–Kenmore is an official neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. While it is considered one neighborhood for administrative purposes, it is composed of numerous distinct sections and in casual conversation are almost always referred to as "Fenway," "Kenmore Square," or "Kenmore."...
, Longwood
Longwood Medical and Academic Area
The Longwood Medical and Academic Area is a medical campus in Boston....
, and Mission Hill
Mission Hill, Boston, Massachusetts
Mission Hill is a 3/4 square mile neighborhood of Boston, with the population of approximately 18,000 people.The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Columbus Avenue and the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury to the east, Longwood Avenue to the northeast and the Olmsted designed Riverway/Jamaicaway and...
neighborhoods. Huntington Avenue is signed as Massachusetts Route 9
Route 9 (Massachusetts)
Route 9 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with U.S. Route 20, Route 2 and the Massachusetts Turnpike, Route 9 is one of the major east-west routes of Massachusetts, and like the others its eastern terminus is in Boston...
.
Description
In the Back Bay neighborhood the avenue is primarily dominated by the Mother Church and headquarters of the Church of Christ, ScientistChurch of Christ, Scientist
The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy. She was the author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science teaches that the "allness" of God denies the reality of sin, sickness, death, and the material world...
and the buildings of the Prudential Center
Prudential Tower
The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, The Pru, is a skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was...
shopping and office complex.
Also known as the Avenue of the Arts, the middle portion of Huntington Avenue is lined by many significant artistic venues and educational institutions in Boston, including Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall, Boston
Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999...
, Horticultural Hall
Horticultural Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Horticultural Hall, at the corner of Huntington Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, was built in 1901. It sits across the street from Symphony Hall. Since 1992, it has been owned by the Christian Science Church...
, the New England Conservatory, Northeastern University, the Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
Theatre (Huntington Theatre Company's mainstage), the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wentworth Institute of Technology
The Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational, technical design and engineering college located in Boston, Massachusetts...
and the Massachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a publicly-funded college of visual and applied art, founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest art schools, the only publicly-funded free-standing art school in the United States, and was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree...
. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
is also only about a block from Huntington Avenue.
Near the Longwood Medical Area the street touches upon a number of medical research institutions and hospital complexes, including the Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
.
At the point at which the street reaches the overpass of the Jamaicaway and the border of the town of Brookline
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, South Huntington Avenue runs towards Jamaica Plain Center and Route 9 continues west into Brookline as Boylston Street
Boylston Street
Boylston Street is the name of a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. Another Boylston Street runs through Boston's western suburbs....
.
Transit links
The "E" Branch of the MBTAMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
Green Line
Green Line (MBTA)
The Green Line is a streetcar system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. It is the oldest line of Boston's subway, which is known locally as the 'T'. The Green Line runs underground downtown and on the surface in outlying...
roughly follows Huntington Avenue underground from Copley Square until it rises above ground at the Northeastern Portal
Northeastern University (MBTA station)
Northeastern University is a surface-level trolley stop on the MBTA Green Line. It is located in a dedicated median along Huntington Avenue in Boston, between Opera Place and Forsyth Street, and is adjacent to the Krentzman Quad on the campus of Northeastern University...
. It then operates in a dedicated median
Central reservation
On divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...
of Huntington Avenue between Northeastern University
Northeastern University (MBTA station)
Northeastern University is a surface-level trolley stop on the MBTA Green Line. It is located in a dedicated median along Huntington Avenue in Boston, between Opera Place and Forsyth Street, and is adjacent to the Krentzman Quad on the campus of Northeastern University...
and the Brigham Circle
Brigham Circle (MBTA station)
Brigham Circle is a trolley-train stop on the "E" branch of the MBTA's Green Line in Boston, MA. Along with the Longwood Station, it is the closest stop to Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and the rest of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, all of which are within a...
stop, where trains begin operating on the street mixed with traffic.
History
Huntington Avenue began in Art Square (now Copley Square) and wended its way toward Brookline. It was originally called Western Avenue. By 1883 the square that been named for the adjacent (and later relocated) Museum of Fine Arts was renamed Copley Square. The avenue originally began at the intersection of Claredon and Boylston Street and ran diagonally across the square past Trinity Church. In the 1960s this stretch was eliminated was part of a redesign of the square and now the avenue originates from the intersection of Darmouth Street and St. James Avenue.The street was named for Ralph Huntington (1784–1866). Huntington was one of the men who moved to have the Back Bay filled in. He donated money to many of the institutions in the Back Bay and later the Fenway.
Huntington Avenue, near Northeastern University, was the site of the old Boston Red Sox stadium and site of the first World Series game in 1903
1903 World Series
The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the Boston Americans of the American League against the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League in a best-of-nine series, with Boston prevailing five games to three, winning the last...
. A statue of Cy Young stands on the current day Northeastern campus to commemorate the location of the pitcher's mound of the Huntington Avenue Grounds
Huntington Avenue Grounds
Huntington Avenue American League Base Ball Grounds is the full name of the baseball stadium that formerly stood in Boston, Massachusetts and was home to the Boston Red Sox from 1901-1911...
ballpark.
See also
- Huntington Theatre Company
- Huntington Theatre CompanyHuntington Theatre CompanyThe Huntington Theatre Company is a non-profit professional theater company in Boston, Massachusetts. The Huntington has garnered six Elliot Norton Awards and three Tony Award nominations for productions that were transferred to Broadway after critically acclaimed productions in Boston...
- Copley SquareCopley SquareCopley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
- First Church of Christ, ScientistFirst Church of Christ, ScientistThe First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States is The Mother Church and administrative headquarters of the Christian Science Church, and is located in the Christian Science Center in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston...
- Horticultural Hall, Boston, MassachusettsHorticultural Hall, Boston, MassachusettsHorticultural Hall, at the corner of Huntington Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, was built in 1901. It sits across the street from Symphony Hall. Since 1992, it has been owned by the Christian Science Church...
- Jordan HallJordan HallJordan Hall is a 1,019-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall, and together they are considered two of America's most acoustically perfect performance spaces...
- Longwood Medical and Academic AreaLongwood Medical and Academic AreaThe Longwood Medical and Academic Area is a medical campus in Boston....
- Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationMassachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationThe Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founding members included Paul Revere, Benjamin Russell, and others...
, built Mechanics HallMechanics Hall (Boston, Massachusetts)Mechanics Hall was a building and community institution on Huntington Avenue at West Newton Street, from 1881 to 1959. Commissioned by the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, it was built by the noted architect William Gibbons Preston. The building was located between the Boston and...
(1881–1959) - Massachusetts College of Art and Design
- Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
- New England Conservatory
- New England Manufacturers and Mechanics InstituteNew England Manufacturers and Mechanics InstituteThe New England Manufacturers and Mechanics Institute flourished in the 1880s in Boston, Massachusetts. It existed as a rival to the long-established Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. Individuals affiliated with the NEM and M Institute included businessman John F. Wood, James L....
(1880s) - Northeastern University
- Wentworth Institute of TechnologyWentworth Institute of TechnologyThe Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational, technical design and engineering college located in Boston, Massachusetts...
- Boston Young Men's Christian AssociationBoston Young Men's Christian AssociationThe Boston Young Men's Christian Association was founded in 1851 in Boston, Massachusetts, as the first American chapter of the YMCA.- Central Branch; Huntington Ave. :...