Commonwealth Avenue Mall

The name is a little misleading as it’s not actually a mall but a park, or more so a beautiful paved strip of walking area. This is one of my favorite places in Back Bay, and another great open, quieter space in the midst of a busy city. It definitely feels like the East Coast here. I first came to visit during the summer, which is beautiful and I’m sure it’s just as beautiful during other seasons with the many trees and benches to relax, people watch, have a picnic, and enjoy the greenery and architecture of the surrounding buildings.

I used to work on Newbury St. and the only thing that saved my sanity when I worked at the end was the Comm Ave Mall. Where else could I sit in the shade and watch people walk their dogs, check out deformities on pigeons, look at architecture, and eat my lunch? No lie, I’ve even taken a quick 10 minutes to ‘rest my eyes’ out here.
Just watch out for jerks on their bikes or skateboards or tourists. Worse yet, tourists on bikes. Be wary of the last block, as there have been ongoing sewer issues and you can smell it.
The lovely trees, stretches of grass, and public art more than make up for the above!

Commonwealth Avenue Mall is gorgeous! If you’ve ever been to Richmond, VA it reminds me of (an older, bigger, better?) Monument Avenue — gorgeous homes flanking the mall on both sides, monuments commemorating the city’s heroes, and a shady mall in the middle great for taking a stroll, run or walking the dog. But no bikes are allowed!
Among those memorialized here are Phillis Wheatley, Abigail Adams, historians, and there’s a beautiful, stirring tribute to firefighters who lost their lives or were injured in a 1972 hotel fire along Commonwealth Avenue.
Although I made it a route for getting in part of my morning run so that I could get some shade, it would be such a nice place for kicking back to relax. It’s about a mile long and on the east end, it runs right into the beautiful Public Garden.
My, my would I love to live on this street! Gorgeous homes!

Wonderful path to walk to Fenway Park to beat the heat, a lot of shade and park benches. Beautiful houses and apartments to view along the way!

Commonwealth Avenue Mall is the alluring
strip of greenery that runs the length of
Comm Ave in Boston… a long rectangular park.
This is where everyone who lives on Comm Ave,
and Marlborough Street, comes to walk their dogs.
It’s also perfect for poochless pedestrians.
The Deal: I love when they light up all the trees,
like twinkling stars, every Christmas

Awesome place for a stroll, to relax on a bench, eat a sack lunch and enjoy people watching. The statues and memorials are excellent — check out Alexander Hamilton near Boston Common. The mall is lined on both sides by beautiful buildings. What a beautiful spot in the heart of Boston!

Good for a nice stroll. If you have a smart phone I suggest downloading a self-​guided tour to tell you about the different statues.

Don’t come here for shopping — the Commonwealth Ave Mall is actually a stretch of park and paved walking area on the Back Bay’s beautiful brownstone lined Comm Ave.
Walk on over after a visit to the public garden. You’ll find many statues honoring historical MA residents, and modern day heroes (like those honored by the fallen firefighters memorial).
It’s a perfect place for a stroll to enjoy nature, while still being in the city! You’ll pass locals walking their dogs, tourists checking out the statues, and locals enjoying a a breath of fresh air.
On winter nights, the trees lining the mall are illuminated with strings of white lights.
This park is part of the «Emerald Necklace», a 1,100-acre chain of nine parks linked by parkways and waterways, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1883.

The Comm. Ave. Mall is like the neglected step child of Boston’s green spots. Most people flock to the Common, or the Public Gardens. While there’s plenty of activity going on both Newbury and Boylston streets just a block or two away the atmosphere here is much more calm.
Its a little hard to describe it because there’s really nothing that particularly stands out about this park. Not only is it the neglected step child, it’s also the middle child. But that’s okay because you don’t have to do much to appreciate this space. Just walk through it one calm Sunday afternoon. It’s just a lot more open and pedestrian friendly than the shopping strip that is right next door. If you come during the cherry blossom blooming season the Mall will light up in a serene way you can just take in and enjoy.

Having spent a few occasions over the past couple years sitting behind the wheel of a car at red lights along Comm Ave, it was a welcome respite to walk through The Mall on the way to the Commons from Kenmore. Tree cover + benches + calm relative to streets surrounding it (traffic sandwich) = victory, America.

Walking the Comm Ave Mall is so much better than being stuck in traffic in a car or fearing for my life on a bicycle. Consider this the scenic route (other than walking the Esplanade). Every season the Comm Ave Mall is among the most beautiful spots — covered in snow with trees covered in lights, the changing leaves in Fall or the vibrant green in Spring and Summer offering shade. Bring a good book, a quick bite, or just relax!

I read a book about Boston’s history, and included was a photo circa 1800s of Commonwealth Avenue with almost no houses and the mall was populated by tiny little sapling trees. Fast forward over 100 years, and now the Comm Ave Mall is a gorgeous gem of a park (albeit a bit narrow) in between heavy traffic and commerce. On a nice spring or summer day, the shade provided by the trees is a nice respite from walking on the sidewalks. If you’ve lived in Boston your whole life, or are just visiting for a day, make some time and enjoy this great legacy of the great Back Bay landfill project!

One of the best places to run to experience Boston!!!
The Commonwealth Avenue Mall is one of the Crown Jewels of the Emerald Necklace Park system and was MADE for runners like Southern California was made for people who suffer from tanorexia!
For those of you outside of Boston: The Emerald Necklace Park system consists of a chain of beautiful, immaculate parks (about 7 miles long) linked by parkways and waterways (see my map photo) which makes for a wonderful run or walk to experience the majesty of Boston in summer!
You start your run in the spacious Boston Common (where America and freedom were born!) Then follow the main path through the Majestic Boston Public Garden in full bloom. Then you run over the famed garden bridge and cross the street into the expansive median of Commonwealth Avenue (see photo)
If the sheer beauty of it seems like the boulevards of Paris it is because the thieving French copied their city from us (That was a joke: we copied them in our design of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, But Hey! We saved them from the Germans, the Russians and EuroDisney, so it’s all good!) Really, running threw it is like jogging threw an outdoor Museum! Along the Leafy path of perfectly landscaped trees and manicured grass are the highest quality Hellenist and Modernist statues commemorating Boston and American History. To your left and right are the ornate rows of Victorian brownstones making up the opulent historic heart of the Back Bay! At the end of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall you can either turn around and back track for a shorter run or continue on thru the parks of the Emerald Necklace for a tour de force of Boston!!!
But be warned! There is one big problem with running on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall:
The squirrels.
Thanks to Global warming, the squirrel population in Boston has increased exponentially in the last few months. And, much worse, due to some sort of environmental genetic poisoning the squirrels have become much more aggressive and intelligent. We in state government surmise it is only a matter of time before the squirrels rise up and take over all of Downtown Boston, just like in the movie Planet of The Apes. But until that dark and bloody day of the inevitable squirrel revolution, jogging on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall on a tranquil sunny day is not to be missed.
Ps. To any squirrels reading this: FYI– as a trusted member of State Government I hope you realize that I can be useful in rounding up my fellow humans when the time arises and as an experienced Unilocaler I know where all the best places to get nuts are. Just sayin!

Although my dog hails from Bumblefuck, Oklahoma, she moved to Boston at four or five weeks old and quickly acclimated to city life. She became so much of a city dog that for a few months she refused to pee anywhere except for on pavement between parked cars, most often along always-​busy Newbury Street. Grass was nothing to her. Eventually, however, she came to recognize that although she had totally disclaimed her bucolic origins, she didn’t have to renounce grass altogether. She began to appreciate the Back Bay’s landscaped spaces so much that she even began to pee on them. She particularly enjoyed Arthur Gilman’s 1856 Haussmann-​inspired Commonwealth Avenue Mall, presumably because it isn’t as tourist-​laden as the Public Gardens or Copley Square, but also because at least at night it’s more peopled than the neighborhood’s other two linear park systems and urban design masterpieces – the Esplanade and Southwest Corridor. Although she doesn’t especially dig all the Second Empire, Romanesque, Queen Anne, etc architecture flanking Comm Ave, she at least appreciates it more than the two Philip Johnson buildings she would otherwise have to endure were she hanging out in Copley Square instead. Besides, Comm Ave Mall gives her lots of trees, benches, sculptures, and other dogs to look at, so who cares if it’s situated in the biggest cohesive «Victorian» neighborhood in the US. It also gives her some space to run around in, provided she’s on an extendable leash so she doesn’t throw herself in front of swiftly moving traffic. And if she wants to go on a really long walk, she can start out at the Public Garden and continue straight on through Comm Ave Mall which connects with the Fens at Charlesgate (where one must pardon the tangle of overpasses). From the Fens, she can even continue on around the Emerald Necklace, beginning with the Riverway, followed by Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, Arnold Arboretum, and finally Franklin Park – all the while forsaking cars in favor of city grass.
If you happen not to be a dog and/​or are dogless, Comm Ave Mall is still worth visiting. A few of the many landmarks to check out on and along it, walking East to West:
–The facing George Washington and Alexander Hamilton statues (the former at the entrance to the Garden, the latter across Arlington St on the Mall)
–The First Baptist Church, located at 110 Comm Ave at Clarendon St. This is HH Richardson’s less-​known church on Clarendon and is only two or so blocks away from Trinity.
–Hotel Vendome (the Second Empire style building at the corner of Comm and Dartmouth) and the Vendome Firefighter’s Memorial on the Mall diagonally across from the building. The memorial sculpture was designed in 1997, for the 25^th anniversary of the death of nine firefighters in one of the worst fires in Boston’s history. The bench that is part of the sculptural group is situated such that if you sit on it and read the inscriptions, you’ll see the building in the background. There are 154 pavers beneath the sculpture, the number representing the number of Boston firefighters killed up until that point, including the Vendome nine.
–Cross Dartmouth and you’ll be at Olin Levi Warner’s William Lloyd Garrison sculpture with its inscription from the inaugural issue of «The Liberator»: «I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.»
–Meredith Bergmann’s 2003 Boston Women’s Memorial, featuring Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phyllis Wheatley
–The Ayer Mansion at 395 Commonwealth Avenue: the only intact residence designed entirely by Louis Comfort Tiffany. It’s currently being restored and also functions as a boarding house for young, single women (
). It’s open to the public on twelve Saturdays each year (check
for specific dates); you can alternatively schedule a private appointment to see the house by e-​mailing
.

When I win the lottery I’m going to live here. It’s a great place to walk either your dog or your out of town relatives. I recommend walking from Kenmore towards the Public Garden. Lovely as the Garden and Common are I prefer Comm Ave Mall’s vibe. There are interesting statues and monuments all along the way, but no tourists. People are just out walking their dogs or soaking up a little sun. Very peaceful atmosphere, be prepared to see lots of cute dogs and occasionally a wedding photo shoot.

Comm Ave Mall is a great place for a quiet jog, stroll, or walk. It is a great old fashioned section of Boston away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You really feel the charm of Boston here. Lots of park benches and some cool statues to look at. great for rollerblading and dog walking as well.