The larger neighborhood context: Boston's historic South End
Located in Boston's historic South End, The Boston Center of the Arts is a complex of varied buildings and exterior spaces contained in a single urban block. The South End, a predominantly residential neighborhood and the largest Victorian brick rowhouse district in the United States, is characterized by its prevalent four and five-story houses, several low to mid-rise modern housing developments, and lively avenues teeming with commercial activities. It also includes a thriving neighborhood of artist lofts and galleries in a repurposed industrial area along Harrison Avenue referred to often as SOWA (South of Washington, Boston's SOHO).
The South End is adjacent to Boston's Chinatown, Bay Village, and Roxbury neighborhoods, and is within walking distance of major destinations including the Prudential Center, Copley Square, Newbury Street, and Boston's Back Bay. The South End is wholly accessible by foot, car, and public transportation. True to Boston's high percentage of public transportation usage, access to the site is provided by subway (MBTA) and commuter rail at the Back Bay and Copley Stations. Boston's first Bus Rapid Transit Service, The Silver Line, runs along Washington Street, and MBTA buses run along Washington, Tremont, East Berkeley, and Dartmouth Streets. Within the past twenty-five years the South End has emerged as Boston's most vibrant and desirable urban neighborhood, home to a diverse population and thriving cultural and commercial activities all set in a well-maintained historic district.
Tremont Street, Clarendon Street, Warren Avenue, and East Berkeley Streets define the BCA Block. It is approximately 3.6 acres in size. The block is surrounded by brick-paved sidewalks, from ten to twenty feet wide, with the exception of the triangular Plaza, located at the intersection of Tremont and Clarendon Streets. This Plaza was created by the termination of Montgomery Street at Clarendon, undertaken to simplify the intersection for vehicles. Clarendon Street connects the BCA block to Back Bay Station and provides the front door for the Boston Ballet. Tremont Street connects the BCA site north to Chinatown and The Public Garden/Boston Common, and south to Roxbury neighborhoods. Tremont Street is one of three important thoroughfares (the others are Columbus and Washington) that joins the South End to the rest of the city and gives the neighborhood its commercial identity. Tremont Street is the heart of the South End. Its many shops, restaurants and prominent institutions make its local moniker, "restaurant row" a fitting description. While sidewalks are typically generous along the length of Tremont Street, the BCA Plaza provides one of the only large open spaces along its course.