Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston University is a private, co -educational and nonsectarian school. Boston University can trace its roots to the Newbury Institute in Newbury Vermont in 1839 although it was established as Boston University and chartered by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1869. With a faculty of nearly 4, 000 and a student population of 30, 000, Boston University if the fourth largest private university in the country and the city of Boston’s fourth largest employer.

What the school has to offer

Boston University offers bachelor’s degrees, master degrees and doctoral degrees. The school also has medical and dental degrees through 18 schools and colleges as well as two urban campuses. Travel with your rental car in Boston to the Charles River in Boston’s Fenway-Kenmore and Allson neighborhoods to visit the main campus or head over to Boston’s South End neighborhood to view the Boston University Medical Campus.

The Charles River Campus

During the term of school president Lemuel Murlin, the president was seeking to unify the campus which was scattered around the city. Between 1920 and 1928 the school bought the land along the river from the Riverfront Improvement Association. Plans were proposed for a riverside quadrangle with a multistory administrative tower modeled after the “Old Boston Stump” in Boston, England but they had had to be scaled back in the 1920s when the State Metropolitan District Commission seized riverfront land for Storrow Drive.

A change for the better

Harold Case became Boston University’s fifth president in 1951 and under his direction the campus underwent dramatic changes to become a national research university. Up until Case’s retirement in 1967, the campus had tripled in size to 45 acres with 68 new buildings. These building included the first large dorms on campus Claffin, Rich and Sleeper Halls were built on West Campus. You will also see with your rental car in Boston Warran Towers, BU Law Tower, the George Sherman Union and the Muger Memorial Library,

The second wave of change

During the late 1990’s concern was raised over the lack of cohesiveness between the the east and west campuses lead to more developments. When you visit with your rental car in Boston today you will also be able to see the John Hancock Student new Fitness and Recreation center (FitRec), a large multipurpose arena, and three dormitories which were all completed before 2009. As Boston University expands, the school is planning to grow skyward and is trying to obtain air rights over the Mass Pike.

Campus life

Don't forget to check out the surroundings when you travel with your rental car in Boston. The university is surrounded by several cultural neighborhoods, being located at the junction of Fenway- Kenmore, Allston, and Brookline, The Fenway- Kenmore area offers the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Landsdowne Street. Traveling to the Allston neighborhoods with your rental car in Boston you will find Boston’s largest bohemian neighborhood since the 1960s. Coming here, you will be able to relax at several of the quirky cafes amongst the artists and musicians that live nearby. Swing by Brookline and you will find independent and foreign films at Coolidge Corner Theatre and book readings at Brookline Booksmith. Other things you can find include Symphony Hall, the Beacon Book Annex, Jordan Hall and the main branch of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, the art and commerce of Newbury Street. Across the river there are even more museums, shops and galleries for you to visit!

Before you goˇ

For more information when you visit with your rental car in Boston visit Boston University’s official website at www.bu.edu