Find your way to Fenway-Kenmore! The Fenway neighborhood is best known for Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. But Fenway-Kenmore (also known as the Fenway) is a nice place to live with exhilarating attractions, delicious restaurants, and modern and stylish apartments and condos. But before you start moving to Fenway-Kenmore, you should learn a little more about living in Fenway. Here’s what you should know about this trendy and thriving Boston neighborhood.
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Where Is Fenway?
Fenway-Kenmore is in southwestern Boston, bordering Longwood, Mission Hill, Back Bay, and Lower Roxbury. The Charles River forms the Fenway neighborhood’s northern border, while the Muddy River snakes through the center of the community. Fenway-Kenmore is less than three miles from Downtown Boston, and commutes by car can take under 15 minutes. The total area of Fenway-Kenmore is 1.24 square miles. The main Fenway ZIP code is 02215, though some businesses and homes use 02115.
Fenway-Kenmore is well-connected to the Boston public transportation system and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Massachusetts Route 9 and the Massachusetts Turnpike run through the community. The Green Line and Red Line run through the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, and you can get on and off trains at several different stops. You can also take several different bus routes through the neighborhood; you can use this route map to see where stops are and where routes go, making moving to Fenway-Kenmore easy.
Fenway Map
You can find interesting Fenway things to do, delicious Kenmore Square restaurants, and places to live with this map of Fenway.
Fenway-Kenmore History and Overview
Fenway-Kenmore was founded on land annexed from Brookline in 1873. City planners anticipated the neighborhood to be a residential center, but many schools developed buildings in the area. After Fenway Park opened in 1912, businesses and residential buildings began to open, though the Fenway area in Boston was not regarded as a premier place to live. In the 2000s, developers began opening mixed-use buildings and luxury apartments, turning Fenway-Kenmore into a trendy Boston neighborhood.
Fenway-Kenmore demographics include:
- Population: 37,733
- Median household income: $48,949
- Educational attainment: 69.3% of residents have graduated high school, 33.8% have a bachelor’s degree
- Median age: 26.7
- Foreign-born population: 28.9%
- Racial and ethnic composition: 68% White (61.7% non-Hispanic White), 18.9% Asian, 10.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.0% Black or African American, 2.8% two or more races, 0.6% other
What’s it Like Living in Fenway?
Fenway-Kenmore has recently become one of the trendiest and most energetic neighborhoods in Boston. Many restaurants, stores, and apartment buildings have opened within the last ten years, bringing in an influx of new residents, including young professionals and small families.
The Fenway is walkable, though the streets are wide and can have a lot of traffic, especially before and after Red Sox games. Attractions, restaurants, and bars are located close to each other, with most clustered around Fenway Park or Kenmore Square Boston, making them easy to access. The neighborhood may be the best neighborhood in Boston for nightlife; you have numerous options for bars and attractions at night, including game-watch parties.
Kenmore Fenway is most popular with young people. Northeastern University has its campus in southeastern Kenmore Square MA, so the majority of residents are college-aged. Only 2.7% of the Fenway-Kenmore population is under the age of 18. Roughly 5.9% of the population is 60 years or older, and there are community resources for older residents living in Fenway, including YMCA Huntington.
The Fenway is one of the most LGBTQ-friendly neighborhoods in Boston. Several LGBTQ advocacy groups have offices in the neighborhood, including Fenway Health. Fenway Park and Kenmore Square Boston are hubs for Boston Pride events.
Things to Do in Fenway-Kenmore
Fenway-Kenmore is full of unique and must do restaurants, bars, attractions, and activities. Here’s a selection of the top places to visit in the Boston neighborhood.
Restaurants Near Fenway
Sweet Cheeks Q is a family-friendly and hip barbeque restaurant in Fenway. Sweet Cheeks serves a variety of Southern staples at affordable prices, including biscuits, chicken wings, and St. Louis pork ribs.
Hojoko Boston is one of the top Fenway restaurants. You can enjoy authentic Japanese dishes like chicken ramen, karaage fried chicken, and sashimi in a cool setting. Many dishes pair well with Hojoko’s cocktails, sake, and wines.
If you want to sample a few different Kenmore Sq restaurants, you can visit Time Out Market Boston. Time Out Market is an indoor food court with 16 different restaurants, including seafood and Mexican eateries. It’s a great place for an excursion with friends from out of town in winter or on a rainy day.
Bars Near Fenway
You can find numerous cool bars near Fenway Park, most of which cater to Red Sox fans. Cask N Flagon is one of the most popular Fenway bars, and you can even see the park from the patio. The bar serves a range of original cocktails and local beers and wines, including lagers and tequila. Lansdowne Pub is a traditional Irish pub that serves a large selection of whiskies, draft beers, wines, and cocktails. When you’re not watching baseball games, you can watch live entertainment, including adult open-mic nights.
Shopping
Fenway-Kenmore is not home to any shopping malls, but you can visit locally-run stores and major retailers throughout the community. The official Red Sox store is 19 Jersey Street, and it contains thousands of items of Red Sox memorabilia. Comicopia is a kid-friendly independent comic book store that also sells manga, graphic novels, and specialty paperback books.
Things to Do in Fenway Boston
Fenway Park is the biggest attraction in Fenway-Kenmore. You can attend baseball games at low prices between April and October. It is also a popular concert venue throughout the year, though most shows take place during the offseason.
If you’re looking for things to do near Fenway Park, you can visit the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA Boston). MFA Boston is home to over 450,000 unique works of art, and you can spend the entire day exploring the collections with your friends and family.
When you want to go outside, you can visit Back Bay Fens. The Fens contains free community gardens, dog-friendly walking paths, memorials, and other landmarks perfect for families and adults. It is one part of the Emerald Necklace, a chain of parks that runs through Fenway-Kenmore and the best neighborhoods in Boston.
Here’s where you can visit these attractions and restaurants near Fenway:
- Sweet Cheeks Q, 1381 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02215, 617-266-1300
- Hojoko, 1271 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02215, 617-670-0507
- Time Out Market Boston, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA, 02215, 978-393-8088
- Cask ‘N Flagon, 62 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, 617-536-4840
- Lansdowne Pub, 9 Lansdowne Street, Boston, MA, 02215, 617-247-1222
- 19 Jersey Street, 19 Jersey Street, Boston, MA, 02215, 1-800-FENWAY-9
- Comicopia, 464 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite #13, Boston, MA, 02215, 617-266-4266
- Fenway Park, 4 Jersey Street, Boston, MA, 02215, 877-733-7699
- Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, 617-267-9300
- Back Bay Fens, 100 Park Drive, Boston, MA, 02215, 617-635-4505
Schools in Fenway-Kenmore
Boston Public Schools is the main public school district for Fenway-Kenmore students. Fenway and Kenmore do not have any elementary or K-8 schools; the closest one is Tobin School Boston in Roxbury.
Mel King Middle School and Mel King Preparatory Academy are in Fenway-Kenmore. These schools are part of the Melvin H. King South End Academy, an alternative program for students with special needs. King South End schools offer personalized clinical support with highly skilled educators, giving each student what they need to learn in the classroom.
Notable Fenway-Kenmore private schools include Boston University Academy. Students take college preparatory classes in small environments; the academy has an average student-to-teacher ratio of 10:1. Academy students in good standing are automatically accepted to Boston University.
You have numerous choices for colleges in Fenway-Kenmore. US News and World Report ranks Boston University (BU) in the top 50 national universities. BU has a four-year graduation rate of 84%, 21 percentage points higher than the national average. The Hollywood Reporter ranks Berklee College of Music as the second-best music school in the country. The Boston Conservatory at Berklee is based in Fenway-Kenmore, and you can take music classes with Grammy-winning professors.
Fenway-Kenmore Boston does not have a public library; BU has several libraries, but they are reserved for students. The closest public library is the Central Library of the Boston Public Library system in Back Bay.
Is Fenway-Kenmore Safe?
Fenway-Kenmore is a safe place to live. Here are the latest crime statistics for Fenway-Kenmore:
- Overall crime rate: 1,794 offenses per 100,000 people (18.4% lower than the overall Boston crime rate, 23.5% lower than the national crime rate)
- Violent crime rate: 378 crimes per 100,000 residents (31.4% lower than the city crime rate, 2.5% lower than the national crime rate)
- Property crime rate: 1,416 offenses per 100,000 residents (14.1% lower than the Boston crime rate, 27.7% lower than the national crime rate)
The Boston Police Department employs 2,132 officers, many of whom patrol the Fenway-Kenmore area regularly. You can use this official Boston crime map to see where crimes occur in Fenway-Kenmore and surrounding Boston neighborhoods.
Kenmore Real Estate
According to Redfin, the median sale price of Fenway-Kenmore homes for sale is $1,103,500, and the median price per square foot is $1,200. The median price of single-family homes for sale in Kenmore is $2,962,500, while the median price of townhomes is $1,520,000, and the median price of Kenmore condos for sale is $999,900. Most condo buildings in the neighborhood were built within the last ten years, so they contain modern features like eco-friendly stainless steel appliances and upgraded cabinets. Some single-family Fenway homes for sale and townhomes are older, but they have been refurbished in recent years.
According to RentCafe, the average monthly rent for Fenway-Kenmore apartments is $3,937, more than $2,200 than the national average. You can find studio and one-bedroom Fenway-Kenmore Boston apartments throughout the community, but two and three-bedroom units are more limited. Most apartments for rent in Fenway Boston are very small, with two bedroom units covering just over 1,000 feet. However, most Kenmore Square apartments have been built recently and have luxurious features like 24-hour fitness centers, on-site recycling, and communal clubhouses. Some buildings are located in historic structures from the 1900s, providing a retro aesthetic that distinguishes them from more modern buildings. Popular apartment complexes include Bower Boston, which has indoor atriums with natural daylight and attached sun decks.
Fenway-Kenmore is the best neighborhood in Boston for young people and sports fans. You’ll love the exciting things to do, beautiful homes and condos, and safe streets.
But before you start living in Fenway, you must figure out moving to Fenway-Kenmore. Mass Bay Movers’ team of over 50 Boston movers performs more than 2,000 moves every year. Get a free moving estimate by calling 978-587-3775.
