Last Thursday, the Fenway area was boiling over with craziness as Red Sox fans celebrated their team’s entrance into the playoffs. On most days, that area of Boston doesn’t see as much excitement. Across the Fens, behind the Museum of Fine Arts, the Fenway neighborhood of Boston houses movie theaters, restaurants and a bubbling weekend social scene.
However, the most well-known landmark of the area is Fenway Park, where the Red Sox play. As the oldest ballpark in operation in the U.S., it facilitates over 30,000 spectators in its green bleachers.
“The left field’s short dimensions is compensated for by The Green Monster, a 37 feet tall wall with a history replete with lore,” an informational Web site about Boston, iboston.org, states. “Originally constructed from railroad ties and tin, the walls unpredictable effect on hits of it took on the same mystical quality as dribbling on the Boston Garden’s transportable parquet floors.”
Freshman journalism major Josh Stephens, spotted wearing a Red Sox cap, said the city seems more upbeat since the Red Sox have made it to the playoffs.
“I noticed a lot more Red Sox gear and hats [around the area],” Stephens said.
He was down on Boylston Street watching their last game on the big screen as the street was swarming with fans.
“I read a few articles in the paper everyday saying about how this is the year [for the team].”
Outside the stadium on a game day, expect to smell sausage coming from the Sausage Guy and other vendors. Even Governor Mitt Romney rolled up his sleeves to give the locally famous sausages a turn on the grill. The Sausage Guy has been featured on New England’s Phantom Gourmet, a program on UPN 38 and WBZ Channel 4 that reveals reviews of restaurants, but never reveals who the phantom is.
Kenmore Square, which houses Fenway Park, is the central nervous center to this body of land. Busy streets such as Boylston Street and Commonwealth Avenue surround this area near Boston University’s campus.
Another busy street just off of Kenmore Square and on the rear of Fenway Park is Landsdowne Street — bustling with night life from clubs such as Avalon, Bill’s Bar and Jillian’s.
Middlers Stephanie Johnson, a finance major, and Rebecca Dellert, an international business major, both said their favorite clubs on Landsdowne Street are Embassy and Avalon because they open both their doors to be one club.
“Thursdays are their Latin nights, they play different music like Latin and European,” said Johnson. He also said Avalon is fun because of the fashion shows they hold during certain club nights.
The neighborhood isn’t just gussied up for the night life, it wears an Emerald Necklace every day. The neighborhood consists of a string of parks, known as the Emerald Necklace, that run throughout Boston and into Brookline.
“One of the best aspects is the Fens itself,” said Nikko Mendoza, Fenway neighborhood coordinator in Mayor Menino’s Office of Neighborhood Services. “It’s a great example of the city’s open spaces, one of the best parts of the city is our extensive parks network. Residents and visitors [can enjoy it], but also pitch in to make sure it’s safe and clean for everyone.”
More than a century ago, the city of Boston gave the salt marsh, mud and swamp land a face lift. The land was turned into a recreational area, which now houses the Kelleher Rose Garden and the Richard D. Parker Memorial Victory Gardens.
“The goal is to make an already beautiful and historic place even better,” said Simone Auster, director of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, in an article featured in Boston Magazine, “and to reintroduce it to so many local people who forget that it’s even here.”
The Fenway area, despite the culture, education and fun, may be mostly known for the Red Sox. Mendoza said the baseball team does add a certain energy to the neighborhood and they are “very mindful of the community.”
“[The games] tend to create more activity in the neighborhood,” Mendoza said. “Especially when we’re winning.”
