Newbury Street, Boston: homes above and among the Back Bay's shops

At a glance

What is Newbury Street known for?

Newbury Street is known for its retail shops and restaurants. East of Massachusetts Avenue it is about a mile of 19th-century buildings, often called brownstones, holding hundreds of shops and restaurants, and the street continues west to Brookline Avenue. For what is open on a given block, the Back Bay Association runs the street's own business directory.

It was not planned that way. Newbury was on the 1856 plan as a residential street, 60 feet wide with a 22-foot setback, and an 1893 Baedeker guide counted it among Boston's finest residence streets, although one account calls it the least fashionable street in the Back Bay at first. Its houses have since moved into commercial or mixed use, and the City now treats everything south of the alley between Commonwealth Avenue and Newbury as the commercial portion of the Back Bay Architectural District, with its own set of guidelines.

That history matters if you are buying a home here. You are buying into a building that is partly a shop, an office or a restaurant, governed by different design rules from the houses one block north.

Newbury Street homes and prices

Zillow publishes no values for Newbury Street. The nearest neutral reference is ZIP 02116, where Zillow's typical value in August 2026 was $1,298,982 for condos, $1,818,983 for single-family homes and $1,355,771 for all homes. Few Newbury homes are single-family, so the condo figure is the more useful benchmark, and even that blends quieter residential streets with units above storefronts.

Condos above the shops

Most homes on Newbury are condominium units on the upper floors of mixed-use buildings, with a business at street level. Before you offer, read the master deed for how the commercial units share common expenses and votes, what uses the commercial units are allowed, and who pays for the facade and roof. Order the 6(d) statement of unpaid condo charges early, and ask about any planned special assessment.

Whole mixed-use buildings

A whole Newbury building with a shop below and apartments above is valued partly on its commercial income, so ask for the leases, their terms and any renewal options along with the usual house inspections. Storefront and sign changes go through the Commission's commercial guidelines rather than the residential ones.

Homes on the cross streets near Newbury

The north-south streets had no front setback requirement, so corner buildings and side-street homes near Newbury can sit right at the sidewalk. If you want the shops close by without living above one, compare homes on the cross streets; see the Back Bay condo guide for unit types.

Newbury Street block by block

Newbury runs between the same alphabetical cross streets as the residential grid, then crosses Massachusetts Avenue toward Brookline Avenue.

Arlington to Berkeley

The block starts at the Public Garden. Emmanuel Church, on this end of Newbury, and the Arlington Street Church, built 1860 to 1861 at Arlington and Boylston, were the first two churches in the Back Bay. Arlington station is a block south.

Berkeley to Clarendon

A Bluebikes dock stands at Clarendon and Newbury at the block's west end, with another a block south on Boylston at Berkeley.

Clarendon to Dartmouth

One block south lies Copley Square, with Trinity Church, built 1872 to 1877 and a National Historic Landmark since 1971, and the Boston Public Library's Central Library at 700 Boylston Street.

Dartmouth to Exeter

Copley station, at Boylston and Dartmouth, serves all four Green Line branches, and Back Bay station is further down Dartmouth at number 145. A Bluebikes dock stands at Dartmouth and Newbury.

Exeter to Fairfield

The middle of the street, a block from Boylston Street's Bluebikes dock at Exeter.

Fairfield to Gloucester

The Boylston Street Bluebikes dock at Fairfield is one block south. From here west the street's buildings went up later, as construction moved east to west across the Back Bay.

Gloucester to Hereford

The last full block before Hereford, the eighth and final alphabetical cross street.

Hereford to Massachusetts Avenue and beyond

The north side of this block was originally planned for stables built by Back Bay residents. A Bluebikes dock stands at Newbury and Hereford, and Hynes Convention Center station, at 100 Massachusetts Avenue, serves the Green Line B, C and D branches. West of Massachusetts Avenue, Newbury continues past Charlesgate toward Brookline Avenue.

Parking and getting around

Resident permits and garages

Parking for residents works the same way as the rest of the Back Bay: free City resident permits for cars registered and garaged at your address, no visitor permits, and a scarce supply of private spaces. Back Bay station has no parking of its own. Monthly garage parking is an option; the Boston Common Garage posted $420 a month for 24/7 parking, so check current rates with any garage. Our guide to Back Bay parking goes further.

Transit

Transit is close at hand: Arlington, Copley and Hynes stations line the street's length, Back Bay station is a short walk south, and the Logan Express to the airport leaves from Copley Place and the Prudential Center.

Open Newbury Street Sundays

On select Sundays the City closes Newbury Street to cars for Open Newbury Street. In 2026 the closure ran from Berkeley Street to Massachusetts Avenue, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on dates from July 12 to October 11, with one more date in December to be announced. The Fairfield, Gloucester and Hereford intersections go car-free, while the other cross streets stay open to traffic.

For an owner, the practical point is parking. Parking on the closed blocks is prohibited from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on those days and the City tows cars left behind, so check the schedule each season and move a car the night before. If you rely on street parking, ask the condo trust whether the building shares a private space or garage arrangement.

Pros and cons of living on Newbury Street

Pros

• Shops and restaurants downstairs and Green Line stations at Arlington, Copley and Hynes.
• The Commonwealth Avenue Mall one block north.
• Homes in 19th-century buildings whose exteriors the Commission reviews.

Cons

• Commercial neighbors in the same building, with their own hours, deliveries and say in the condo.
• Fewer homes to choose from than on the residential streets.
• Exterior work answers to the Commission; see permits and Commission review for brownstones.

Newbury Street compared with nearby streets

One block north, Commonwealth Avenue brownstones are fully residential and face the Mall. Two blocks further, Marlborough Street is a narrower residential street with no shops. The street-by-street guide to Back Bay compares every street, and the history of the Back Bay explains how the grid was built.

If you own a condo above the shops and want to know what it is worth, our recommended Back Bay agent can price it against recent mixed-use building sales; see what selling a Newbury Street condo involves.

Questions about Newbury Street