Commonwealth Avenue (colloquially referred to as Comm Ave) is a major street in the cities of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: People * Newton (surname), including a list of people with the surname * ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. It begins at the western edge of the

Boston Public Garden The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the Downtown Boston, heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common. It is a part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks and is bounded by Charles Street (Bos ...

, and continues west through the neighborhoods of the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

Kenmore Square Kenmore Square is a square in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is formed by the crossing of Beacon Street, Commonwealth Avenue, and Brookline Avenue. It is the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 20, the longest U. ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and Chestnut Hill. It continues as part of Route 30 through

until it crosses the

Charles River The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...

at the border of the town of

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

Description

Often compared to Georges-Eugène Haussmann's Paris boulevards, Commonwealth Avenue in Back Bay is a

parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare. The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or connecting to a park from which trucks and other heavy vehicles are excluded. Over the years, many different types of roads have been labeled p ...

divided at center by a wide grassy mall. This

greenway Greenway or Greenways may refer to: * Greenway (landscape), a linear park focused on a trail or bike path * Another term for bicycle boulevards in some jurisdictions * European Greenways Association, an association for sustainable transport Peopl ...

, called Commonwealth Avenue Mall, is punctuated with statuary and memorials, and forms the narrowest "link" in the

Emerald Necklace The Emerald Necklace consists of a chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and gets its name from the way the planned chain appears ...

. It connects the Public Garden to

the Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

. Where Commonwealth Avenue reaches

, the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

Green Line B branch The B branch, also called the Commonwealth Avenue branch or Boston College branch, is a branch of the MBTA Green Line (MBTA), Green Line light rail system which operates on Commonwealth Avenue (Boston), Commonwealth Avenue west of downtown Bosto ...

rises above ground and dominates the center of the roadway through the campus of

and the neighborhoods of

and

. After leaving Boston and entering Chestnut Hill in

, the avenue passes by

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and the terminus of the

MBTA Green Line The Green Line is a light rail system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area. It is the oldest MBTA subway line, and with tunnel sections dating from 1897, the oldest subway ...

B Branch. The trolley in the median is replaced by grass as the scenery becomes noticeably more suburban and residential, and the Commonwealth Avenue Historic District begins. As the road continues out of Chestnut Hill and into

Newton Centre Newton Centre is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The main commercial center of Newton Centre is a triangular area surrounding the intersections of Beacon Street, Centre St ...

, Comm Ave is still made up of two roadways separated by a grassy median lined with trees. The south side of the roadway contains the main, two-lane east-west roadway, with a one-way, westbound "carriage road" providing local access on the north side of the median. The section of Comm Ave from Chestnut Hill Ave in Brighton to Route 16 in Newton is along the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

route, and is known to be especially hilly, containing the three “Newton hills”. The carriage road continues into West Newton, and the road passes over the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll road that runs concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It the longest Interstate Highway in Massachu ...

in the Auburndale section of Newton. The avenue ends as it leaves Newton, crosses the

and interchanges with

Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 (Costa Rica), National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Ja ...

. The linear stretch of Commonwealth Avenue between Kenmore Square and

Packard's Corner Packard's Corner is located in Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, ...

(where Brighton Avenue maintains a straight continuum and Commonwealth Avenue splits off) contains much of Boston University's campus. BU owns much of the property along and around this part of Commonwealth Avenue. This 1.5-mile stretch is the most central route to commuting around Boston University's main campus, also known as the Charles River Campus, and is frequented by pedestrians, bicycles, and other means of transportation. Walking from one end (Kenmore Square) to the other end (Packard's Corner) or vice versa takes about 25–35 minutes.

History

The Commonwealth Avenue Mall was designed by Arthur Delevan Gilman.

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

designed the Newton portion of Commonwealth Avenue and included the parkway as part of the Emerald Necklace park system. The first statue on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall was erected in 1865 at Arlington Street. The Newton end of the roadway was constructed in 1895 with a line of the

Middlesex and Boston Street Railway The Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B) was a streetcar and later bus company in the area west of Boston. Streetcars last ran in 1930, and in 1972, the company's operations were merged into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBT ...

in the median. In 1923, the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue between Warren Street and Sutherland Road became the first street paved with concrete in Boston.

Streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

service was cut back to its present terminus at the Boston border in 1930 and

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

last ran on Commonwealth Avenue in 1976. An

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

and

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

known as

Norumbega Park Norumbega Park was a recreation area and amusement park located in "Auburndale, Massachusetts, Auburndale-on-the-Charles" near Boston, Massachusetts. The associated Totem Pole Ballroom became a well-known dancing and entertainment venue for big ...

was built at the end of the line on the Charles River in 1897 to increase streetcar patronage. The eastern half of the Newton section of the road is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Commonwealth Avenue Historic District. The mall that includes the landscape features, monuments, street furniture and fences that are bounded by Kenmore Street, Arlington Street and Commonwealth Avenue was designated as a

Boston Landmark A Boston Landmark is a designation by the Boston Landmarks Commission for historic buildings and sites throughout the city of Boston based on the grounds that it has historical, social, cultural, architectural or aesthetic significance to New Engla ...

by the

Boston Landmarks Commission The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) is the historic preservation agency for the City of Boston. The commission was created by state legislation in 1975. History Urban renewal in the United States started with the Housing Act of 1949, part of Pres ...

in 1978. The addition of

protected bike lane A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...

s between the BU Bridge and Packards Corner in 2020 resulted in a tripling of

bikeshare A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bot ...

usage along that segment.

Statuary

Starting at the Public Garden and going westward, the following statues can be seen on the mall: *

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

, co-author of ''

The Federalist Papers ''The Federalist Papers'' is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The ...

'', sculpted by

William Rimmer William Rimmer (February 20, 1816August 20, 1879) was an American artist and teacher born in Liverpool, England. Biography William Rimmer was the son of an English lumber merchant who emigrated to Nova Scotia, where he was joined by his w ...

. The first statue placed on the mall. 1865. * Statue of John Glover, (depicts John Glover, Revolutionary War soldier), sculpted by

Martin Milmore __NOTOC__ Martin Milmore (1844–1883) was an American sculptor. Life and career Martin Milmore was born in Sligo, Ireland on September 14, 1844. He immigrated to Boston at age seven, graduated from Boston Latin School in 1860, took art lessons ...

. 1875. *

Bust of Patrick Collins A bronze bust of congressman and Boston Mayor Patrick Collins is installed along Boston's Commonwealth Avenue, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The memorial was dedicated in 1908 and relocated in 1966. It features a bust of Collins on a gran ...

, depicts Patrick Andrew Collins, the former mayor of Boston; sculpted by

Henry Hudson Kitson Henry Hudson Kitson (April 9, 1863, 1864 or 1865 – June 26, 1947) was an English-American sculptor who sculpted many representations of American military heroes. Romania's Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Elisabeth knighted him after he sculpted ...

and

Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson Theodora Alice Ruggles Kitson (née Ruggles, January 29, 1871 – October 29, 1932), known as Theo A.R. Kitson, was an American sculptor. Life Theodora Alice Ruggles was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Cyrus W. and Anna H. Ruggles. As ...

. Moved in 1966 from its original siting at Charlesgate due to construction of the Bowker Overpass. * The Vendome Memorial, which honors nine firefighters killed in the 1972

Hotel Vendome fire 300px, Hotel Vendome, Boston as it appeared circa 1880 The Hotel Vendome fire in the United States was the worst firefighting tragedy in Boston history. Nine firefighters were killed during the final stages of extinguishing a fire on June 17, ...

, sculpted by Theodore Clausen with landscape architect Peter White. 1997. *

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

, abolitionist and journalist, sculpted by Owen Levi Warner. *

Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...

, naval historian and writer, sculpted by Penelope Jencks. 1982. * The Boston Women's Memorial, with statues of

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. She was a founder o ...

Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and Suffrage, suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer of promoting Women's rights, rights for women. In 1847, ...

, and

Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784), was an American writer who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates Jr., Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: ...

, sculpted by Meredith Bergmann. 2003. *

Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the ''1837 generation, Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19t ...

, former president of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, sculpted by Yvette Compagnion. 1973. A gift of the Argentine government in 1913, the statue arrived in Boston sixty years later. *

Leif Ericson Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According to the sagas of I ...

, first European discoverer of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, sculpted by

Anne Whitney Anne Whitney (September 2, 1821 – January 23, 1915) was an American sculptor and poet. She made full-length and bust sculptures of prominent political and historical figures, and her works are in major museums in the United States. She received ...

. 1887. Commissioned by

Eben Norton Horsford Eben Norton Horsford (July 27, 1818 – January 1, 1893) was an American scientist who taught agricultural chemistry in the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard from 1847 to 1863. Later he was known for his reformulation of baking powder, his i ...

, the inventor of baking powder, this statue was originally sited at the Massachusetts Avenue end of this block, but was moved to Charlesgate in 1917.

Whitney Whitney or Whittney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that ...

also created a monument to Leif situated on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. Image:Hamilton statue, Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg, Hamilton Statue, 19th century Image:Morison-statue.jpg, Statue of

on the mall, 2006 Image:Commonwealth Ave October 2006.jpg, The Commonwealth Avenue Mall looking west towards the

statue, 2006

Gallery

File:CommonwealthAve KingsBoston1881.png, c. 1881 File:CommonwealthAve Boston Bacon 1886.png, c. 1886 File:2350760077 Vendome Boston.jpg, Vendome, 19th century File:1901 CommonwealthAve ClarendonSt Boston.png, 1901 File:Comm Ave at South Street in Brighton at night.jpg, Overview of Commonwealth Ave., Brighton, 2007 File:Boston at sunset.jpg, Overview, near Kenmore Square, 2007 File:Commonwealth Avenue at Mass Pike tilt-shift, November 2009.jpg, Comm. Ave, near Boston University, 2009 File:2010 CommonwealthAve Boston 4588722811.jpg, Near Massachusetts Avenue, 2010 File:USA-Boston-Commonwealth Avenue Mall5.jpg, Commonwealth Avenue Mall with statue of William Lloyd Garrison, 2013 File:1991-BOS-Commonwealth Avenue3.jpg, Magnolias, Commonwealth Avenue, 2013 File:1982-BOS-2.JPG, Brownstones

References

External links