⁴ᴷ⁶⁰ Walking Boston, MA: Newbury Street in Back Bay

September 2, 2024 - 1:00 PM
73°F / 23°C
Walking eastbound on the entire length of Newbury Street from Massachusetts Avenue to Arlington Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Filmed with GoPro Hero 12.
From Wikipedia:
"Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east-west, from the Boston Public Garden to Brookline Avenue. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike westbound at Massachusetts Avenue. Newbury Street is known for its retail shops and restaurants.
East of Massachusetts Avenue, Newbury Street is a mile-long street lined with historic 19th-century brownstones that contain hundreds of shops and restaurants, making it a popular destination for tourists and locals. Most of the "high-end boutiques" are located near the Boston Public Garden end of Newbury Street. As the address numbers climb, the shops become slightly less expensive and more bohemian up to Massachusetts Avenue.
West of Massachusetts Avenue, the street borders the Massachusetts Turnpike on its unbuilt southern side, while the northern side is reserved mainly for parking and rear service entrances for buildings on Commonwealth Avenue. Newbury Street is interrupted by the Muddy River and Charlesgate Park. It then continues to border the Turnpike on its southern side until it meets Brookline Avenue. The shopping district might be able to expand as a result of a major project that is being considered for decking over the Turnpike to the west of Massachusetts Avenue.
Newbury Street has a mix of shops and eateries. Its renovated brownstone buildings feature coffee shops, cafes, and restaurants, with stores at all retail levels. However, due to the concentration of upscale luxury stores at its easternmost end, it is known as one of the most expensive streets in the world.
Donlyn Lyndon, the Eva Li Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of California, Berkeley, writes that: "West of Clarendon Street, Newbury Street develops its own very distinctive and appealing character and becomes one of the nicest shopping streets in Boston, or anywhere. Renovated town houses with large glass bays on the ground floor produce a delightful urban landscape.... Owners and tenants... have further animated the street by using the 25-foot (7.6 m) space between the building and the sidewalk for various purposes. Some areas are paved and used for displays or sidewalk sales. Others have thick planting... Some lots have stairs up and down to shops and galleries; others have show windows and display cases for flowers or fashions or other items for sale. But each contributes something extra, and together they make these blocks of Newbury Street genuinely attractive."
Since 2000, the City of Boston has experimented with closing Newbury Street between Berkeley Street and Massachusetts Avenue to vehicular traffic on Sundays during the summer. This "Open Newbury Street" program was extended by the addition of two December weekends as of 2024."