About Bay Village
Perhaps Boston’s best kept secret as far as neighborhoods go, this little haven of residential is tucked between the South End and the Theatre District. A collection of narrow, one way cobblestone streets, lined with Federal Period buildings built by the craftsmen who built most of Beacon Hill. Just six square blocks, and a population of about 700, it lives up to its “Village” name.
Perfectly situated just a couple of blocks from the Public Garden, residents are close to both the Back Bay and Downtown, as well as all of the fabulous restaurants, shops and galleries of the South End. It is also steps from Tufts Medical Center and Chinatown, with easy access to both I-93 and the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass Pike). As small as it is the neighborhood is packed with history, it is the birthplace of famed poet and writer Edgar Allen Poe, whose parents both acted in nearby theaters. Along with Poe’s parents, the neighboring Theatre District attracted actors, musicians and other entertainment professionals in the early twentieth century. Soon after Bay Village became the center of Boston’s film industry, with several film distribution companies moving in, demolishing some of the original buildings and replacing them with more Art Deco styles, some still standing today. The neighborhood was also the location one of Boston’s more horrific events, the fire at Cocoanut Grove nightclub in 1942 left over 490 people dead. There is a plaque on the site of the disaster at 17 Piedmont Street.
NOT TO BE MISSED: Take in a show at Jacques Caberet, have a snack from Mike and Patty’s in one of the neighborhoods adorable garden parks, or checkout the view from the roof of The Revere Hotel.