Boston's Back Bay neighborhood is one of the last bastions of history in its purest form. Much of the neighborhood's charm is derived from its brownstones, painstakingly preserved by the Back Bay Architectural Commission; restoration efforts in the Back Bay are currently at the highest rate in the neighborhood's history. Gas-lit lamps cast light in the windows of these homes, many of which still contain artifacts from their 18th century heritage. In fact, if you take an evening stroll down any one of these streets -- stretching from Arlington to Massachusetts Avenue in one direction, Beacon Street to Boylston Street in the other direction -- you'll see men making their way down the sidewalks, lighting the lamps at dusk. Trees here are so old, in fact, that their roots literally grow through the wrought-iron gates surrounding the brownstones. The fall is the best time to explore the Back Bay; ivy covering the brownstones turns brilliant shades of orange and red and ripples when the wind blows. Around every corner and behind every gate lies a miniature garden, a historical find, something you hadn't noticed during your last walk through the neighborhood.

Real estate is pricey here; the average one-bedroom property sells for $300 per square foot, and the average one-bedroom rental, for about 600 square feet, is $1,500. Last year the Back Bay set a record when prices reached an average $377 per square foot. Descendants of feuding families the Cabots and the Lowells still reside in the Back Bay, setting the tone for the feud of which Agent Karen Hanson of the RE/MAX Group sits in the middle. She has far more prospective buyers than she has properties to sell. "The demand is unbelievable right now," Hanson says. "I've got a stack of folders with prospective buyers, and I have no properties to sell them." A property that stays on the market for three months is enough to raise Realtors' eyebrows. The ratio of properties sought to properties available, in fact, is 3 to 1 in the Back Bay. A transplant from Virginia, Hanson resides in a Back Bay brownstone and works on nearby Newbury Street, within walking distance. Just ask her if she likes it here.

"People come to Boston for hardwood floors, marble fireplaces, and historical detail around the ceilings," she says. Although the region's history brings clients to the Back Bay, convenience keeps them there. The city's hospitals -- including Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital -- and its educational institutions are world-renowned. "Boston is a very livable city," Hanson says. "It's still very much like a neighborhood. You've got the cultural aspects -- the Symphony Hall, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts. But it's not quite as fast-paced as New York. You know your neighbors."

The Back Bay is also home to Newbury Street -- Boston's Rodeo Drive -- and a mix of supermarkets and corner stores, ensuring access by foot to a resident's every need. For particularly adventurous residents, however, Storrow Drive and Clarendon Street, which leads to the entrance to the Massachusetts Pike ("Mass Pike"), are both within easy access.

Back Bay residents enjoy the convenience the "T" -- Boston's extensive rapid transit network -- provides. For most residents, it's a simple walk from their front doors to the nearest subway station. For car-loving Bostonians and transplants, however, old habits die hard. "It's a secret to find out where you can park," Hanson says. "You can only find that out after living here for a while. Unlike New York City or L.A., Boston has no grid. The best way you can find available space is to just get in your car and get lost. When you find a space, stay there. Don't leave. It's certainly not the best situation, and it's probably going to get worse," she laughs.

Considering the Back Bay's not-so-modest asking prices, just who is willing to wait -- and pay -- for these coveted properties? "We've got a lot of demand for 'kiddie condos' -- parents buy condos for their kids who attend college in Boston," Hanson says. "Campus housing and apartments are so expensive here, and with a 1 percent vacancy rate in the entire city, the parents figure they can rent the condo out later if their kids don't stay in Boston after graduation, which many of them do."

Older retired couples are also moving to Boston in record numbers, attracted by the city's convenience and ready for a home requiring less maintenance. And the Back Bay is experiencing an influx of relocating single professionals, predominantly first-time buyers who are discovering that in the Back Bay, it's often more economical to purchase a home than to rent one. The demand for new properties is at an all-time high, but the Back Bay is surrounded with a series of tight restrictions on building. "There's no space to build," Hanson explains. "And residents are concerned that Boston will change. It's very conservative here." A couple of condominium projects are currently in the works in the Back Bay but aren't expected to open for approximately two years. The majority of Back Bay residents buy, not rent, and stay for an extended period. The further you stray from the Back Bay, the more transient the population becomes; a large student population (the city fills with an average of 250,000 college students each fall) resides in those areas of the neighborhood.

Within spitting distance of the Back Bay is Boston's famous and much smaller Beacon Hill neighborhood, adjacent to the Boston Public Gardens, where brownstone properties tend to be chopped up, smaller, and a mite more expensive. "The closer to the Public Gardens you get -- the lower the number -- the more you pay," Hanson says. The Bull and Finch Pub and Hampshire House, which spurred the long-running "Cheers" series, are in Beacon Hill overlooking the Gardens. Within Beacon Hill sits Boston's jewel, Louisburg Square, once home to the Kennedys. Louisburg Square is home to the city's most expensive property; in fact, a single-family home that recently sold for $5 million set a record for the exclusive neighborhood.

Back Bay is "the hub of financial activity," Hanson says. "There's serious, serious old money here." It's a good thing -- parking spaces cost an average of $150 to $200 a month here. Approximately $20,000 to $25,000 will buy you a parking space. Boston's "hottest" parking space for sale right now: on Beacon Hill's Brimmer Street, for a mere $60,000. But it's yours for life. And for most Back Bay residents, a lifelong stay is the plan.

Published: November 21, 1997

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.