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    Commonwealth Avenue Mall

    4.8 (24 reviews)

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    Reviews With Photos - Commonwealth Avenue Mall

    Abigail Adams -- don't fail to read the inscription!  Fascinating.
    Lisa G.

    Commonwealth Avenue Mall is gorgeous! If you've ever been to Richmond, VA it reminds me of (an older, bigger, better?) Monument Avenue -- gorgeous homes flanking the mall on both sides, monuments commemorating the city's heroes, and a shady mall in the middle great for taking a stroll, run or walking the dog. But no bikes are allowed! Among those memorialized here are Phillis Wheatley, Abigail Adams, historians, and there's a beautiful, stirring tribute to firefighters who lost their lives or were injured in a 1972 hotel fire along Commonwealth Avenue. Although I made it a route for getting in part of my morning run so that I could get some shade, it would be such a nice place for kicking back to relax. It's about a mile long and on the east end, it runs right into the beautiful Public Garden. My, my would I love to live on this street! Gorgeous homes!

    The Frederick Ayer Mansion designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany is a lovely sight along Comm Ave.
    Courtney K.

    Bottom Line: A narrow park that stretches down the center of Commonwealth Avenue from the Public Garden to Fenway Park. First off, props to Bean Town for their awesome Emerald Necklace. The Commonwealth Avenue Mall is just one of 10+ parks that makes us the grassy, green recreation spaces that are linked together. Secondly, I was excited to learn that I could walk along a green space all the way from the Historic Public Garden to the iconic Fenway Park. My afternoon stroll down the Comm Ave park did not disappoint. In fact, I wish I could have been more leisurely about my stroll and leaned more about the monuments along the way. The significance of some monuments like the Boston Women's Memorial were obvious, but other ones required more pondering. I felt like walking through the tree lined mall gave me a nice snippet into life in Bean Town. There were BU students inspecting their weed, playful dogs walking their owners and beautiful architecture along the entire route. One of the most impressive buildings I noticed was the Frederick Ayer Mansion. The gorgeous mosaic tiles and stained glass of that home definitely put a halt on my brisk walk! I'm so glad I got to experience 1.5 miles of the Comm Ave Mall.

    The emerald necklace park system: GREAT RUNNING!
    Claude F.

    One of the best places to run to experience Boston!!!! The Commonwealth Avenue Mall is one of the Crown Jewels of the Emerald Necklace Park system and was MADE for runners like Southern California was made for people who suffer from tanorexia! For those of you outside of Boston: The Emerald Necklace Park system consists of a chain of beautiful, immaculate parks (about 7 miles long) linked by parkways and waterways (see my map photo) which makes for a wonderful run or walk to experience the majesty of Boston in summer! You start your run in the spacious Boston Common (where America and freedom were born!) Then follow the main path through the Majestic Boston Public Garden in full bloom. Then you run over the famed garden bridge and cross the street into the expansive median of Commonwealth Avenue (see photo) If the sheer beauty of it seems like the boulevards of Paris it is because the thieving French copied their city from us (That was a joke: we copied them in our design of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, But Hey! We saved them from the Germans, the Russians and EuroDisney, so it's all good!) Really, running threw it is like jogging threw an outdoor Museum! Along the Leafy path of perfectly landscaped trees and manicured grass are the highest quality Hellenist and Modernist statues commemorating Boston and American History. To your left and right are the ornate rows of Victorian brownstones making up the opulent historic heart of the Back Bay! At the end of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall you can either turn around and back track for a shorter run or continue on thru the parks of the Emerald Necklace for a tour de force of Boston!!! But be warned! There is one big problem with running on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall: The squirrels. Thanks to Global warming, the squirrel population in Boston has increased exponentially in the last few months. And, much worse, due to some sort of environmental genetic poisoning the squirrels have become much more aggressive and intelligent. We in state government surmise it is only a matter of time before the squirrels rise up and take over all of Downtown Boston, just like in the movie Planet of The Apes. But until that dark and bloody day of the inevitable squirrel revolution, jogging on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall on a tranquil sunny day is not to be missed. Ps. To any squirrels reading this: FYI- as a trusted member of State Government I hope you realize that I can be useful in rounding up my fellow humans when the time arises and as an experienced yelper I know where all the best places to get nuts are. Just sayin!

    Rick T.

    Wonderful path to walk to Fenway Park to beat the heat, a lot of shade and park benches. Beautiful houses and apartments to view along the way!

    View to the Hamilton statue
    Don L.

    Commonwealth Ave Mall is a great place to go for a walk. Most any time of year there are lots of people out for a stroll on the walk way down the middle. There is a variety of statues and the buildings are just beautiful. They keep it well maintained. There are a lot benches, so it is great to have lunch there or just sit and people watch. The only thing that would be better is if they included marked crosswalks where the streets cross the mall.

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    13 years ago

    Good for a nice stroll. If you have a smart phone I suggest downloading a self-guided tour to tell you about the different statues.

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    Ask the Community - Commonwealth Avenue Mall

    Review Highlights - Commonwealth Avenue Mall

    Walking the Comm Ave Mall is so much better than being stuck in traffic in a car or fearing for my life on a bicycle.

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    The Esplanade

    The Esplanade

    4.8
    (100 reviews)
    1.2 mi

    The Esplanade is always beautiful, it doesn't matter the season. This is the perfect time of year -…read morewell now thru Fall to visit. Winter is nice too but they lock up the bathrooms which can be annoying if you're taking a super long walk and trying to stay hydrated! If you're looking for something to do on the weekend, look no further. The park is so big - you can listen to music or maybe even see a movie at the Hatch Shell, have a picnic, hangout on the dock, or even have a beer at Night Shift. Oh and if you have kids, there are a few different playgrounds. Let's not forget, it's super dog friendly. Oh and get your cameras ready for various birds and sometimes turtles in the lagoon.

    The Esplanade was a revelation, one of the highlights of my trip to Boston!…read more We took the T-red, got off Charles/MGH and it was a short walk to the Esplanade, a few miles alongside Charles Rivers with beautiful views of the river, wild life, the bridge and the city! We went on a Saturday morning, locals were walking, jogging, sitting on a bench drinking their coffee. Teams were out in the water roving, a nice visual Boston cliche that you see in movies, but I got to see for real. You can walk for miles here, till you get to the BU Bridge in parallel with the beautiful houses of Beacon Hill. Nice nature, cute bridges, birds, peaceful spots to stop by and look at the water, enjoy a book or a coffee. Nice locals offered to take our photos and we enjoyed chatted with. Beautiful sculptures, clean restrooms, lots of greenery. Great spot for a picnic also. I am sure it's pretty here at sunset. I am sure they have events here as well. My husband regrets not knowing about it. He went to Boston University and walked the BU Beach and the Bridge, but wasn't aware of this part. He would have loved to come here for peaceful walks and some reading. We didn't want to leave. A must see place in Boston!

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    The Esplanade
    The Esplanade
    7/23/2024

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    7/23/2024
    Boston Common

    Boston Common

    4.4
    (556 reviews)
    1.5 mi

    I love well planned green spaces in the central areas of big cities, some of the most famous of…read morewhich are Central Park in NYC and of course, Boston Commons. Tonight after our dinner we enjoyed walking through here and Boston Public Gardens for a good 1.5 hrs catching up with our daughter. There was a growing crowd of happy people (families and children too) cheering the Iraq World Cup team who will play their first match tomorrow against Norway here in Boston. About a dozen Boston police were watching from the sidelines on their motorbikes and I prayed all would stay peaceful. Meanwhile, pedestrians, dog walkers, families were enjoying the fresh cool evening amidst the grandiose trees, lawns, ducks, fountains, and historic statues. If you're in the area, definitely stop by, and also check out the Boston Public Gardens, which are even more landscaped and welcoming!

    This review is separate from the Boston Public Gardens which is just across the street and pretty…read moremuch connected. Boston Commons is a normal urban park in some ways with a playground for kids, a pond, park benches, a carousel, baseball stadium, and food vendors. It's also part historic park with monuments including one of the 54th Civil War all black regiment, a plaque saying this is the oldest park in America and others. It's also a part of the Freedom Trail. There's also a small cemetery in the park. The park is both busy and relaxing. It's smaller than I expected but that may just be because it felt like I went through it quickly. Time flies when you are having fun so maybe distance does too. Boston Commons is a must stop on any trip to Boston.

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    We need Love
    We need Love
    7.4.2024
    7.4.2024
    Boston Common

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    The Lawn On D

    The Lawn On D

    4.0
    (173 reviews)
    2.5 mi

    While in Boston a family friend took us here. Two kids altogether had real fun, a pleasant place to…read morehangout with or without kids. Huge space with the swings (the ultimate thing in this park), ping pongs, corn holes, big screen... It was free admission when we were here and a lot of people were there on the swing, we had to wait for sometime for our turns, but it was fun. If your around this park, just stop by for a while and enjoy the swing. Parking was on street!

    First time here and all I can say is WOW!! Beautiful space! They've done a really amazing job with…read morethe renovations to this space! From the green 'grass' to the swings to the greenery and the lighting and the huge stage with an awesome sound system - really great! We went here for live band karaoke with our favorite band called Five Minutes of Fame - they're playing every Thursday night from 7-10 pm. So if you're into singing with a live band go on over and live out your rockstar dreams! They had the food truck called The Grove which I think has a very limiting menu - in terms of healthy and tasty - which is my requirement. I got the grove salad with chicken and it was just ok - nothing to write home about. The hubs had the BLT sandwich which he liked but also found it quite greasy. There are restrooms which are these portable ones in these trailers and they're very nice and clean but the individual ones on the opposite end of the stage was very smelly. The ones behind the stage were better. Running water, flush everything- like a proper restroom. So that is good. We got parking through SpotHero at a nearby parking lot - it was $26 but we didn't want to take chance looking around for parking that is why. But our friends said they found street parking so it's possible to find free parking too. Overall we had a great time, the weather was perfect beautiful summer evening - and great music! We'll be back for more live band karaoke!

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    Hanging out on the swings
    Hanging out on the swings
    The Lawn On D
    The Lawn On D

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    Arnold Arboretum

    Arnold Arboretum

    4.8
    (418 reviews)
    3.1 mi

    My daughter recommended us to visit this fantastic arboretum. It was super worthwhile! Just to get…read moreout of the city first a bit into a well-preserved and landscaped beautiful lush green space with evergreens and oaks and gardens. It's free every day! There's a visitor center, where they have clippings of flowers that are labeled for easy identification and appreciation. Also throughout the arboretum are little plaques identifying flora. We went up to see the view of Boston from Peter's Hill and walked alongside the blooming mountain laurel bushes. Walkable paths are asphalt or wood chips. We saw a wild turkey, several robins, and occasional people. Super glad we explored this wondrous place!

    It's been quite some time since i stopped by the arboretum. As a kid my grandma and mother used to…read moretake us there and take photos in the summer. I have some very good child memories here. They used to have hedge? Carvings of animals and stuff which was super cool. Didn't see that today but not sure, we didn't have time to check the whole arboretum. I think this place is so cool, there's families walking, roller blading, skating, biking etc dog walking you name it. It's clean in there so please keep it that way if visiting. There are ample signs of the types of trees, plants, and different zones. Porta potty available on the paths, resting chairs, benches and even spreads for a picnic. Friend had his wedding there not long ago. Easy commute from Forrest Hills train station on the orange line and walk up the street. Multiple gates to go in from, but main gate closed to cars at 4pm i think. The arboretum is closed at dusk. Beautiful walk on a beautiful day.

    Photos
    Fall time
    Fall time
    Arnold Arboretum
    Arnold Arboretum

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    Commonwealth Avenue Mall - parks - Updated July 2026

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