The corner of Symphony Road and Saint Stephen Street

Behind the bustle of Huntington Avenue sits a hidden respite from the backpack-laden students on the hunt for their next cups of coffee and the eager touring families sporting campus maps and coordinating bookstore t-shirts. At the intersection of Symphony Road and St. Stephen Street, rows of quiet brownstones surround a patch of greenery, a place to pause amidst all the comings and goings of life in the college neighborhood.

Conveniently located at the intersection of rows of apartments, coffee shops and restaurants, students are bound to stumble upon this oasis of benches, brush and trees and claim the spot as their own. 

Some neighborhood residents take advantage of the corner’s iron fence, effectively scouting a bike rack out of the landscaping. Others come to read in the shade of the two trees that reach for sunlight beyond the neighborhood’s four-story walk ups. Many students, like Northeastern University second-year Niamh McKinney, stroll down from the nearby Pavement Coffeehouse to take a moment to themselves and enjoy the scenery. 

“I love to bring my coffee there and watch the world go by,” said McKinney, matcha latte in hand and backpack cast aside. She had paused at the benches as a halfway point in her migration from Pavement Coffeehouse, where she grabbed breakfast, to Caffè Nero, where she would meet her friends and pass the hours neck-deep in business statistics homework.

McKinney echoes the sentiments of many students who make similar treks through the neighborhood, which connects the Northeastern campus to the rest of Boston’s Back Bay. “I go to these benches to find a tranquil pause from the hustle and bustle of everyday life,” she said. 

A regular to this corner world of stone paths and sweeping branches, McKinney advocates for the space’s potential as a center for gathering. “The benches are an opportunity to establish community in the surrounding area,” she said, looking to the pedestrians mulling along the narrow streets beyond the garden’s fences. As Boston emerges from a year of social isolation, college students are hungry for safe spaces where they can enjoy the last weeks of sunshine in one another’s company.

At the perfect juncture of students’ busy lives, the corner of Symphony Road and St. Stephen Street has never been in greater demand.