Commonwealth Avenue Mall

The Commonwealth Avenue Mall is a long, tree-lined pedestrian promenade that occupies the wide median strip of Commonwealth Avenue. It acts as the central spine of the Back Bay neighborhood, stretching from the Boston Public Garden toward the Back Bay Fens. The Mall was designed by architect Arthur Gilman in eighteen fifty-six, drawing inspiration from the wide boulevards of Paris to organize the new residential district that was being created on land reclaimed from the Charles River.