Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and its western suburbs

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill,

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

Fenway–Kenmore Fenway–Kenmore is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. While it is considered one neighborhood for administrative purposes, it is composed of numerous distinct sections (East Fenway, West Fenway, Audubon Circle, Kenmo ...

, the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

campus,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, and Chestnut Hill. It is not to be confused with the Beacon Street in nearby Somerville or others elsewhere.

Description

Beacon Street begins as a one-way street from the intersection of

Tremont Street Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts. Tremont Street begins at Government Center in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly so ...

and

School Street School Street is a short but significant street in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. It is so named for being the site of the first public school in the United States (the Boston Latin School, since relocated). The school operated at various ...

. From this point, it rises up Beacon Hill for a block where it meets Park Street in front of the

Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lo ...

. From that intersection it descends Beacon Hill as a two-lane, bi-directional street until it reaches Charles Street. At Charles Street, it becomes a one-way avenue that runs through the

neighborhood until it reaches

Kenmore Square Kenmore Square is a square in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, consisting of the intersection of several main avenues (including Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue) as well as several other cross streets, and Kenmore station, an MBTA ...

. From Kenmore Square, Beacon Street skirts the area around

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

and follows a southwesterly slant through

along either side of the MBTA Green Line trolley tracks to

Cleveland Circle Cleveland Circle, an area of Boston, Massachusetts, is located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, and more specifically the Aberdeen section of Brighton, in very close proximity to Brookline and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, at the intersectio ...

. From there it passes through Chestnut Hill, including the

Chestnut Hill Reservoir Chestnut Hill Reservoir is a reservoir created in 1870 on existing marshes and meadowland to supplement the city of Boston's water needs, located in its namesake neighborhood of Chestnut Hill. A 1.56 mile jogging loop abuts the reservoir. Chestnu ...

and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. It winds its way into the city of Newton, where it crosses Centre Street to form the defining intersection of

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 ...

, meets Walnut Street at "Four Corners" near the Newton Cemetery, and goes through

Waban Waban (16041685) was a Native American of the Nipmuc group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to Christianity in Massachusetts. Life Waban was born about 1604 at Musketaquid, near the present town of Concord. While there i ...

at its intersection with Woodward Street. It ends at Washington Street near Boston's circumferential highway,

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 India * National Highway 128 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 128 ...

History

Beacon Street initially formed the northern limit of

Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beacon ...

, and was extended over the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

Basin as a dam that would later form the shore between a narrowed river and the newly filled-in

neighborhood. The part of Beacon Street west of Kenmore Square was originally laid out in 1850. Railroad tracks were first laid in 1888 for what would eventually become the modern

Green Line C branch The C branch, also called the Beacon Street Line or Cleveland Circle Line, is one of four branches of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Green Line light rail system in the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area. The line begins ...

. In July 2020, the state awarded $32,000 for a feasibility study and conceptual design of restoration of the original bridle path, which ran along the median of the Brookline portion.

In popular culture

Robert McCloskey John Robert McCloskey (September 15, 1914 – June 30, 2003) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He both wrote and illustrated eight picture books, and won two Caldecott Medals from the American Library Association for t ...

's 1941 children's book ''

Make Way for Ducklings ''Make Way for Ducklings'' is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941 by the Viking Press, the book tells the story of a pair of mallards who raise their brood of ducklings on an island in t ...

'' features a mother duck leading her eight ducklings across Beacon Street, with the help of four members of the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...

. * The '' Beacon Street Girls'' series of preteen books is set around Beacon Street in Brookline. *

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award f ...

's 1987 album'' Lone Star State of Mind'' has a song called Beacon Street. * Beacon Street is the location of the fictional pizza parlor "Beacon Street Pizza" during the first season of the sitcom ''

Two Guys and a Girl ''Two Guys and a Girl'' (titled ''Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place'' for the first two seasons) is an American television sitcom created by Rick Wiener, Kenny Schwartz and Danny Jacobson. The series started as a short-run (13 episodes) mid-se ...

''. * 112½ is the address of the fictional bar

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

. The actual location of the exterior shots is 84 Beacon Street. * The Unitarian Universalist Association managed to confuse the numbers on this street. In 1927, moving from 25 Beacon Street down the street, they wanted to keep the number 25, and convinced the legislature to pass a law to keep it. * In Rick Riordan's ''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard'', a main character owns a shop on Beacon Street and the shop appears several times throughout the series. * 14 Beacon Street was used in the series '' Ally McBeal'' as the exterior location for the law firm "Cage & Fish" (later "Cage, Fish, & McBeal"), which was located on the 7th floor of this building.

Image gallery

File:1722 ParkSt TremontSt BeaconSt Boston.png, Beginnings of Beacon St., 1722 (upper left) File:BeaconStreet Boston 1850s.jpg, Beacon Street, Boston, 1850s File:1870 BeaconSt Boston.png, Beacon St., 1870 File:2351617938 BeaconSt Boston.jpg, Beacon St., Back Bay, c. 1870s File:Interior beaconstreet.jpg, Interior of 241 Beacon St., former home of Julia Ward Howe, 19th century File:AmoryTicknorHouse ca1885 BeaconSt Boston detail12 LC HABS ma0898.jpg, Top of Beacon St., across from the State House, c. 1885 File:1900 AHAC parade BeaconSt Boston.png, Parade of the

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world. Its charter was granted in March 1638 by the Great and Gen ...

, 1900 File:Boston Water Works, Chestnut Hill High-Service Pumping Station, 2450 Beacon Street, Boston (Suffolk County, Massachusetts).jpg, Boston Water Works, Chestnut Hill High-Service Pumping Station, 2450 Beacon Street, c. 1970s(?) File:Boston marathon mile 25 beacon street 050418.jpg,

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several 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 i ...

, mile 25, Beacon St., 2005 File:922 beacon street 2006.jpg, 922 Beacon Street in 2006 with Ruggles Baptist Church in the background File:Boston Cityscape Painting m.jpg, ''Boston's Beacon Street'' (2008) by R. Vojir featuring the

Somerset Club The Somerset Club is a private social club in Boston, Massachusetts, founded perhaps as early as 1826. It is a center of Boston Brahmin families - New England's upper class - and is known as one of the big four clubs in the country, the other th ...

File:Boston - buildings 23.JPG, Top of Beacon St., showing One Beacon Street building, 2008 File:Boston Athenaeum, Boston, Massachusetts.jpg, Facade of the Boston Athenaeum File:14 Beacon Street (Fish, Cage, & McBeal) (7183315650).jpg, 14 Beacon Street, from the series '' Ally McBeal'', as the exterior the location of the law firm "Cage & Fish" (later "Cage, Fish, & McBeal"), which was located on the 7th floor of this building

References

External links

* *

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...