Beacon Street
The riverside spine. Bowfront brownstones overlooking the Esplanade and the Charles. Premium views, premium prices. The cream of Back Bay.
BOSTON PROPER · BACK BAY
Back Bay.
Newbury Street's shopping spine. Commonwealth Avenue's grand boulevard. Marlborough and Beacon's residential calm. Boston's most iconic brownstone neighborhood — and arguably America's most beautifully preserved 19th-century streetscape.
~20K
Population
4 lines
Green, Orange + commuter rail
1857
Year landfill began creating the neighborhood
$ data
Median price · live once MLS connects
ABOUT BACK BAY
The neighborhood that defines Boston.
Back Bay was literally built — every brownstone sits on landfill that turned tidal flats into one of America's most beautiful neighborhoods between 1857 and 1900. The result is a near-perfect Victorian grid, a rarity in pre-grid Boston.
The geography is simple: five east-west streets (Beacon, Marlborough, Commonwealth, Newbury, Boylston) crossed by alphabetically-named cross streets running A to H (Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, Hereford). The further east toward the Public Garden, the older and more expensive.
Each east-west street has a personality: Beacon faces the Charles River with the most premium views. Marlborough is the quiet residential gem. Commonwealth Avenue is the grand pedestrian mall. Newbury is Boston's premier shopping street. Boylston is the commercial spine.
Housing is overwhelmingly brownstone — converted single-family townhouses, floor-through condos, garden-level units, top-floor condos with private roof rights. New construction is rare. Inventory is constrained. Prices are correspondingly high.
What you should know: every brownstone has a story, and every story matters at closing. Original details. Renovation history. Condo association financials. Roof deck rights. Parking rights. Working with a broker who's walked these blocks for years matters more here than almost anywhere else in the city.
THE STREETS
Each one has a personality.
Marlborough Street
The quiet residential street. Slightly narrower, slightly more residential, and many would say the most charming. The locals' pick.
Commonwealth Avenue
"Comm Ave." The grand boulevard with the pedestrian mall down the middle. Statues, statues of more statues. Wider lots, taller buildings, parade-ready.
Newbury Street
The shopping street. Ground-floor retail with brownstone-style residential above. Loud, busy, central. Some prefer it; some prefer the quieter blocks.
Boylston Street
The commercial spine. Larger buildings, the Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Trinity Church. More urban energy than the brownstone blocks.
Public Garden & Arlington
The east edge. Closest to Beacon Hill and the Public Garden. The oldest brownstones, the highest prices, the most prestige.
Back Bay listings — coming with MLS
Once our MLS PIN data feed connects, this page will show active and sold properties in Back Bay, filterable by street, building, price, and condo type.
BACK BAY MARKET REPORT
Get a Back Bay market report.
Free, written, custom-to-you. Recent sales by street, days on market, condo association red flags to watch, what's coming on. Within 48 hours.
- Recent Back Bay sales by street
- Condo association watch-outs
- Floor / building type comparisons
NEARBY