Expert: Kevin Irwin - 6/21/2001

Question
My question is one of historical reference.  I'm curious as to where the Fenway District of Boston got it's name.  I know they named Fenway Park what they did because it was built in the Fenway District.

The reason I'm inquiring is because I'm pregnant and plan on naming my son Fenway Michael Knowles, after the park, and I'd like to know the true history of the name.

Answer
Wow, that's quite a cool name.  It might catch on, especially amongst the Red Sox fanatics in the Boston area (and, if someone's not a Red Sox fan, they shouldn't be living in the Boston area to begin with, right? :) ).  Anyway, the Fenway area is so named because it used to be covered with fens.  According to Merriam Webster (www.m-w.com), "fen" is "low land covered wholly or partly with water unless artificially drained".  This area of Boston (like much of the rest of Boston) used to be either marshes or under water entirely until it was either filled in or drained.  Actually, on a side note, you might be interested to look at maps of Boston from the 1600s and 1700s to see how much of Boston used to be underwater before they filled it all in- hence parts called "Fenway" and "Back Bay".  So, the Fenway part of Boston used to be fens (and parts of it still are).  Here's the City of Boston's website brief description of the Fenway-Kenmore area:
http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/neighborhoods/fenway-kenmore/default.asp?ID=13
Hope this helps.  I also hope your son Fenway turns out to be a left-handed pitcher who might someday lead the Sox to the World Series title (hope springs eternal for us Sox fans).