Running tour · Boston

Fenway to Back Bay

2.4 mi run

Open in Stride Stories

The stories on this route

1. Fenway Park

   Look up from Lansdowne Street. That's the back of the Green Monster, the park's left-field wall.

2. Back Bay Fens

   Look at the Muddy River winding through the tall reeds. Into the 1870s, this was a tidal swamp. Boston's sewage ended up here, and it was hit by violent floods.

3. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

   Look at the stone porch: St George and the Dragon over the doorway, and a pair of white marble lions. Above, the chimney rises in a Y. Isabella Stewart Gardner took that as her initial. Set into it is her motto, "C'est mon plaisir", with a phoenix rising.

4. Christian Science Plaza

   Look down the long reflecting pool, about 700 feet of still water. This is the headquarters of the Christian Science church, and home of its Mother Church.

5. Boston Public Library

   Look at the middle arch on Dartmouth Street. On its keystone is the head of the goddess Minerva. Above it, carved in stone: FREE TO ALL. This building cost over two and a half million dollars. Oliver Wendell Holmes called it a "People's Palace". But one inscription on the front didn't last.

6. Trinity Church

   Look up at Trinity Church's big central tower. It stands on what was once a mud flat. This part of the Back Bay was filled-in land, and engineers worried about the weight. So the architect, H. H. Richardson, was told to make the tower lighter.

7. Commonwealth Avenue Mall

   Look along the double row of trees down the middle of the avenue. Under your feet was once a tidal bay. At low tide, much of it was a marshy flat.

Stories researched October 2026 · every fact checked against a source