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Newbury Street is located in the
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 ...
area of
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- most p ...
, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east–west, from the
Boston Public Garden The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the 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 and Boston Common to t ...
to
Brookline Avenue Brookline Avenue is a principal urban artery in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It runs from Kenmore Square in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, forming a 1.5-mile straight line to its other terminus at Washington Street in the Brookline Vill ...
. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entrance to the
Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...
westbound at Massachusetts Avenue. Newbury Street is a destination known for its many retail shops and restaurants.


Description

East of Massachusetts Avenue, Newbury Street is a mile-long street lined with historic 19th-century
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic– Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Typ ...
s 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 The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the 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 and Boston Common to t ...
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 Massachusetts Turnpike on its southern side until it meets Brookline Avenue. A proposed major project for decking over the Massachusetts Turnpike to west of Massachusetts Avenue could allow for expansion of the shopping district. Newbury Street has a mix of shops and eateries. Its renovated
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic– Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Typ ...
buildings feature coffee shops, cafes and restaurants, with stores at all retail levels. However, due to the concentration of up-scale stores at its lower end, it's known as one of the most expensive streets in the world.
Donlyn Lyndon Donlyn Lyndon is an American Third Bay Tradition architect and the Eva Li Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of California, Berkeley. Lyndon was a co-designer of Sea Ranch, California. Education M.F.A. Archi ...
, the Eva Li Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of California, Berkeley, writes that west of Clarendon Street,


History


Early history

Newbury Street's name celebrates the victory of the Puritans in the 1643 Battle of Newbury in the English Civil War. Newbury Street was one of the earliest roads in Boston, its portion was renamed Washington Street by the end of the 18th century. The current road was created during the filling in of
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 ...
in the mid-19th century. The 1893 edition of ''Baedeker's United States'' catalogs Boston's "finest residence streets" as Commonwealth Avenue, Beacon Street, Marlborough Street, Newbury Street, and Mt. Vernon Street. William J. Geddis, however, notes that it was "the least fashionable Street in Back Bay."
Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing '' The Virginian'' and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Biography Early lif ...
's novel, ''Philosophy 4'', set in the 1870s, mentions Newbury Street: The first commercial establishments opened around 1905. By the late 1920s, lower Newbury Street had begun to establish itself as a destination for well-heeled society. With the establishment of Boston's Junior League in 1907, formal dances became very fashionable, and elegant apparel shops prospered. By 1911, 24 Newbury St. featured a salon for lessons in "social and aesthetic dance." As more retailers moved in, many lower floor shops began to feature wide glass windows to exhibit luxury goods. In the late 1950s fashionable boutiques included Darée, Charles Sumner, Miss Harvey (at #32), furriers and Joseph Antell. One of Newbury's oldest and most established retailers is the tony
Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...
department store which occupies its original quarters at the corner of Berkeley St.


Transformation into a shopping district

The transformation that turned Newbury Street into a trendy shopping district probably began in the 1970s with the opening of the original
Newbury Comics Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John B ...
. From 1970 until the late 1990s, lower Newbury Street was lined with posh up-and-coming art galleries. Newbury Street mavens and hipsters spent Saturday afternoons gallery hopping and enjoying the ubiquitous "wine and cheese" art openings. The renowned music instrument retailer "E.U. Wurlitzer Music and Sound" was a part of the greater Boston music scene since 1890, and the store had been located at 360 Newbury Street (on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue) after moving from its LaGrange Street address in the mid-1960s. The building was a plain yellow-brick building by the time the company went out of business in the mid-1980s. In 1989, it was renovated under the direction of architect
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considere ...
and won the Parker Award as the most beautiful new building in Boston. According to architecture columnist Robert Campbell, Gehry "took a blandly forgettable building and transformed it into a monument... It's the first significant example in Boston of a movement known as deconstruction. Deconstructionist buildings are designed to look as if their parts are either colliding or exploding, usually at crazy angles."


Recent history

Since the turn of the 21st Century, Newbury Street has maintained its transformative shopping experience alongside an evolving retail industry. Made-to-measure suits, eco-friendly products, guide shops and concept stores are offerings now commonly found in the area. The street has retained both its sophisticated architectural style and its eclectic mix of retailers, from luxury brands and high-end boutiques to innovative up-and-coming companies, cafés and restaurants. Stores such as Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Valentino,
rag & bone Rag & Bone is an American fashion label helmed by Marcus Wainwright, originally from Britain. The brand is sold in more than 700 shops around the world, as well as in Rag & Bone retail stores. History Rag & Bone was founded in 2002 by Nathan B ...
, Jack Wills,
Steven Alan Steven Alan (born ''Steven Alan Grossman'') is an American fashion designer from New York City. His eponymous brand has stores in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco and is sold online. History Opening his first New York City retail store and ...
, Zara,
Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland the United Arab Emirates, Ku ...
, Lady M, Uniqlo and
Muji (), or is a Japanese retail company which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods. Muji's design philosophy is minimalist, and it places an emphasis on recycling, reducing production and packaging waste, and a no-logo or "no-bran ...
comprise the diverse retail landscape. More recently, the district has become a popular destination for highly produced pop up shops. Many e-commerce brands use temporary storefronts on Newbury Street to test the Boston market for expansion, often landing as permanent fixtures on the street. Local and national celebrities such as
Julian Edelman Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Kent State as a Quarterback an ...
, Kanye West,
Martellus Bennett Martellus Demond Bennett (born March 10, 1987) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at Texas A&M and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second ...
, and Gretta Monahan have also created or contributed to pop up activations on Newbury Street.


Notable places

* The first building completed in Back Bay after it was filled in 1860 was Emmanuel Church at 15 Newbury Street. Today, it is an influential Episcopal church that plays a significant role in the musical life of the city. * At 234 Berkeley Street, between Newbury and Boylston Streets, is a notable building designed by William G. Preston in the classical French
Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...
style for the
Boston Society of Natural History The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...
in 1864. Lyndon describes it as "a remarkably serene Classical building with none of the latent boosterism of its near contemporary, Old City Hall." The museum was renamed the
Museum of Science The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live present ...
in 1945 and moved to Science Park. It was the site of a
Bonwit Teller Bonwit Teller & Co. was an American luxury department store in New York City, New York, founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street, and later a chain of department stores. In 1897, Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the par ...
store from 1947 to 1989 and the men's retailer Louis, Boston from 1990 to 2010. In March 2013, the extensively renovated building re-opened as a
Restoration Hardware RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) is an upscale American home-furnishings company headquartered in Corte Madera, California. The company sells its merchandise through its retail stores, catalog, and online. As of August 2018, the company operate ...
flagship store. * Between 1865 and 1916, Newbury Street was the location of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its Boston campus grew to include two large academic buildings adjacent to the Natural History Museum, one of which was also designed by Preston. By the beginning of the 20th century, smaller scaled townhouses and social establishments filled in much of the length of street frontage. By 1939, MIT's grand structures were demolished and replaced by an insurance building. Gentleman's Clubs on Newbury Street included MIT's Technology Club at #83 across from the original main campus. * The Boston Book and Art Shop was located at 122 Newbury St. *
Boston Architectural College Boston Architectural College, also known as The BAC, is New England's largest private college of spatial design. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and ...
, also known as The BAC, United States' oldest & largest private college of spatial design made its home on Newbury Street in the early 1960s. A national design competition was held in 1964, and the winning entry, by Ashley, Myer & Associates, houses the BAC to this day. Their main campus building located at 320 Newbury Street is a large Brutalist building and the only one of its style in Back Bay. The college also owns 951/955 Boylston which is connected to the fire station at 941 Boylston, which is still active, houses Boston Fire Department Engine Company 33 and Ladder Company 15. The west elevation of the 320 Newbury building is articulated with a mural by the artist
Richard Haas Richard John Haas (born August 29, 1936) is an American muralist who is best known for architectural murals and his use of the ''trompe-l'œil'' style. Haas has a 1959 B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and a 1964 M.F.A. from the U ...
, which was completed in 1975. The trompe l'oeil mural of a Classical-style building and dome provides a contrast to the Brutalist style of the building. * On the corner of Exeter and Newbury Street—the address is given both as 181 Newbury Street and as 26 Exeter Street—is a striking building designed by Boston architects
Hartwell and Richardson Hartwell and Richardson was a Boston, Massachusetts architectural firm established in 1881, by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833–1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854–1935). The firm contributed significantly to the current building stock and ...
in the
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a Architectural style, style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival ...
style. It was originally built in 1885 as the First Spiritual Temple, a Spiritualist church. In 1914 it became a movie theater, the Exeter Street Theatre. The movie theater was notable both for its ambiance ("You felt like you were in some kind of Tudor manor or English country church") and programming ("It was a theater where people did not call to see ''what'' movie was playing, but called only to determine if the movie had changed"). Beginning in the mid-1970s, the theater's midnight screenings of ''
The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 Musical film, musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White (producer), Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman an ...
'' gave the movie a popular cult following, often attracting patrons dressed up in costumes based on characters in the film. * After 70 years the Exeter Street Theatre closed in 1984 due to declining box-office revenues. Its illustrious interior was dismantled and transformed into a Conran's furniture store. After the failure of Conran's, it became a
Waterstone's Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...
bookstore, whose extensive inventory was ruined by massive flooding caused by sprinklers set off by a fire in the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant downstairs. (The fire itself was very minor.) Later, it briefly housed an ill-fated dot-com named
Idealab Idealab (formerly known as idealab!) is a startup studio based in Pasadena, California, U.S.A. History Idealab was founded by Bill T. Gross (not to be confused with the founder of PIMCO, Bill H. Gross) in March 1996. Prior to Idealab, Gross foun ...
. Since 2005 the Kingsley Montessori School has occupied the building, with offices on the upper floors and a restaurant at street level.


References


External links


Newbury Street Boston
* http://thephoenix.com/boston/life/98660-raven-used-books-to-nest-on-newbury/ {{Coord, 42, 20, 57, N, 71, 5, 3, W, region:US, display=title Streets in Boston Busking venues Shopping districts and streets in the United States Economy of Boston Back Bay, Boston Bookstore neighborhoods