You'll know when you've reached Kenmore Square when you locate the giant neon Citgo sign that perches itself on top of the
Boston University Bookstore Mall. Kenmore Square is the intersection of several areas:
Back Bay,
Fenway,
Brookline and
Brighton. It has an association as the gateway to
Fenway Park and the Red Sox, but Kenmore includes much more than just a T stop!
The Square has undergone a renaissance in the 21st century. Many Bostonians mourn the loss of the old, slightly rundown, establishments that once occupied the Square (like "The Rat" aka the Ratskellar) but Kenmore Square is too busy evolving to look back. New developments and establishments have taken over, like Irish pub,
An Tua Nua and tailor-made jean boutique,
Jean Therapy.
Kenmore Square marks the start of the long campus of
Boston University, which stretches along
Commonwealth Avenue, which means it is bustling with students all the time.
The Square is, in typical Boston parlance, just the area where Beacon Street, Commonwealth Avenue and Brookline Avenue come together. Don't look for anything in the shape of a square, really Kenmore is just a confusing jumble of streets and traffic.
Kenmore Square is not an "official neighborhood" of the City of Boston - instead, it is lumped together with the
Fenway into "Fenway/Kenmore". Kenmore Square is part of the great land creation project of the 19th century that created the
Back Bay and Fenway neighborhoods of Boston. Before the 1880s, this area was a swampy marsh where the Stony Brook and Muddy River joined up with the Charles.
It sits on the Green line (B,C,D) and is a hub for buses spreading out to various neighborhood. Currently, the bus station is being rebuilt.
