Category: Neighborhood

Our favorite time of the year at The Lenox is Marathon Weekend – a tradition that started 125 years ago. When the hotel was built in 1900, who would have known that we had the best, possible view of the finish line!

The Boston Marathon was first run on April 19, 1897, inspired by the revival of the marathon at the inaugural modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. It was organized by John Graham of the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), with the help of Herbert H. Holton. Since the Boston Athletic Association’s first marathon in 1897—then known as the “American Marathon”—the site of the finish line has changed several times.

The original course was a 24.5-mile race that started in Ashland and ended close to the site of the present finish line, at Irvington Oval, a 220-yard outdoor track located in our Back Bay neighborhood – of which the exact location is still somewhat of a mystery. In order to conform to the Olympic standard established in 1908, the course was lengthened to 26 miles, 385 yards in 1924, and the starting line was moved to Hopkinton.

After the BAA’s clubhouse was completed in 1898, the finish line was moved to Exeter Street between Boylston and St. James Streets. The annex to the Boston Public Library, across from our Exeter Street entrance, is where the BAA’s headquarters stood. Running past the Exeter Street entrance of the ornate brownstone, finishers ended their races here from 1899 to 1964. Check out the images of winners during this time period!

When John Hancock Financial Services assumed sponsorship of the event in 1985, the finish line moved yet again to its present location on Boylston between Exeter and Dartmouth streets. 2025 marks the second year that the Bank of America has sponsored the marathon, its 129th running!

To say that the dining options at The Lenox have evolved over the years is an understatement. In its 125-year-old history, the hotel has been home to well over 25 different food & beverage outlets!

When the hotel opened its doors in the fall of 1900, the dining facilities at that time were generous – the Palm Room was able to accommodate over 200 guests and was less formal than the Pergola Room which was the venue for more formal dining and could accommodate up to 150 guests. The Palm Room was two storied with a domed glass skylight – now home to our Dome Room function space. Below the lobby was the men’s domain – informal dining in the Grille Room, a barroom paneled in carved chestnut – quite opulent for the times.

When the Saunders Family took over the operation of the hotel in the mid-60’s, Roger Saunders decided to abandon the “fast-food service concept” that resided in the hotel. Closing the Lenox Coffee House in 1968 after a 30-year run, he opened Delmonico’s, an elegant dining room serving all three mealtime periods. Shortly after, the Pub & Grille, and King’s Court opened – expanding the dining options to 3!

The Lamplighter Piano Bar and Lounge became the infamous Diamond Jim’s Piano Bar in the early 60’s. We’ve had plenty of bar rooms too – Lenox Arms Bar, King’s Court, City Bar and now The Irving.

The V Room has been the Tedberry Room, Lenox Arms Bar, Lenox Pub & Grille, The Upstairs Grille, Sam Adams Brewhouse, Solas and now Sweeneys on Boylston!

Delmonico’s has transformed into Anago, Azure, City Table and now the beautiful, new Willow & Ivy.

Be sure to stop by and check out all our newly reimagined dining options!

Postcards Of Progress

Over the years, The Lenox has undergone many modernization and renovation projects, most of them documented thanks to the popularity of postcards, which blossomed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Postcards were popular because they were a quick and easy way for individuals to communicate with each other and of course less expensive!

Through all the years, one thing hasn’t changed – that is the iconic Lenox Hotel rooftop sign. In the early 1900s, with the advancing development of electricity and the automobile, thousands of rooftop signs were erected on rooftops around the country. At the time, they were called “sky signs” and come to be known as scaffold signs because of their prominent steel supports. These same signs are now giving way to either LED bulbs (like ours!) or backlit plastic letters.

You’ll notice in the chronological order of postcards and a couple of exterior photos; the hotel has undergone many renovations – particularly the addition of the entrance and marquee on Boylston Street (in 1920). From the facade, balconies, windows, awnings, first floor businesses and an extensive repointing of the building during our 100th anniversary back in 2000, our stunning hotel proudly stands with regal elegance, overlooking the Back Bay neighborhood.

The Beginnings of Back Bay Boston

Before the 19^th century, the Back Bay was tidal flatland. In 1821, two mill dams were built across the bay – one paralleling today’s Beacon Street. In the 1830’s, railroads from the west and south were extended to Boston, making tracks across the mud flats and filling in stagnant land, which was becoming a health hazard!

A thirty-year project to fill in the Back Bay began in the 1860’s which was aided by the railroad system and the invention of the steam shovel, which expedited the ability to haul in more earth (dredged from the hills of Needham). With one train of earth arriving every 45 minutes in the Back Bay, two house lots could be filled each day – no more smelly, muddy flats!

To celebrate the conclusion of the Civil War, an extensive Peace Coliseum was built in 1869 in the area that is now known as Copley Square. The development of the Back Bay was further spurred by the Great Fire of 1872 and Boston’s most notable church, Trinity, was relocated from Summer Street to its current location in Back Bay.

By the 1880’s, the Back Bay became home to many of the city’s cultural institutions – the Museum of Fine Arts (1874), the original Museum of Natural History (1862), the Boston Public Library (1888) to name a few. In 1882 the Harvard Medical School was built at the corner of Exeter and Boylston Streets and MIT built a drill hall and gymnasium on the site of the future Hotel Lenox in 1883!

The Birth of the Hotel Lenox

Amidst the bustle for a “bigger, better and busier Boston”, the Hotel Lenox was constructed in the heart of the cultural center of Boston and opened in October of 1900. The Hotel Lenox was one of the early large-scale budlings that signaled an end to the depressed construction industry following the financial crisis of 1893. It was modern from the start – the building was fireproof, with both guest and service elevators to all floors and designed for a European Plan operation. The 250 sleeping chambers boasted bathrooms with modern plumbing, closets, annunciator telephones and electric lights.

Innovation in construction made it possible for very large hotels to be built in the late 1880’s – iron and concrete framing allowed taller buildings. At 11 stories, the Hotel Lenox was one of Boston’s earliest high-rise hotels, exceeding the 400 room Hotel Vendome at 8 stories, but in keeping with the scale of Copley Square.

Compared to its New York contemporary, the 1,000 room and 16 story Waldorf Astoria, the Hotel Lenox was more refined and compact. Built by the George A. Fuller Construction Company and designed by architect Arthur H. Bowditch. The U-shaped design of the building, with the base facing Exeter Street and the “legs” opening to the west. The Palm Room, with its domed glass roof snuggled between the “legs” in the lower three stories of the opening, is affectionately now the Dome Room.

Originally (and currently), one entered the hotel from Exeter Street. The main entrance was flanked by electric lamps, was at the center of the building through a glass vestibule with swinging mahogany doors. To the side, a separate lady’s entrance led directly to a reception room where ladies waited while gentleman took care of registering. The ladies could proceed to the elevator without entering the lobby, a design feature sympathetic to the etiquette of the day. It was an unwritten custom that ladies should keep out of the lobby, except to cross to the dining room! They should not linger, as that would expose them to smoke, which was generally permitted in hotel lobbies. Ladies traveling alone were advised to provide letters of introduction to hotel management in advance of their arrival to be sure of the appropriate accommodations – my, we’ve come a long way!

*Cover image: Detail from an 1853 map of the City of Boston by George W, Boynton, courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.