Boston Symphony Hall

About

Symphony Hall opened on October 15, 1900, at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston's Back Bay, and it has been the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra ever since. The Boston Pops also plays its season here, and the Handel and Haydn Society performs several concerts a year in the same room. The hall received National Historic Landmark status in 1999. Acoustician Wallace Clement Sabine designed its proportions using early scientific acoustic principles, and the shoebox shape seats about 2,625 people for BSO concerts or 2,371 when tables go in for Pops shows.

A visit is built around a single concert rather than a self-guided tour. Doors generally open close to an hour before curtain, which gives enough time to find a seat, use the restroom, and settle in before the house lights go down. Most BSO programs run about two hours with one intermission. The BSO's subscription season runs fall through spring, and the Pops take over the hall in late spring and again each December for the holiday run.

Symphony Hall sits in the Back Bay-Fenway area, an easy walk from the Museum of Fine Arts and Fenway Park. Parking is available at the Prudential Center and Christian Science Plaza garages, both close enough to reach on foot without crossing a major intersection. The Orange Line's Massachusetts Avenue station and the Green Line's Prudential stop both connect to downtown Boston in under fifteen minutes; the Green Line's Symphony station, the closest stop to the building, is closed for renovation through spring 2029.

Ticket prices and the exact concert calendar change every season, so check bso.org before planning a date around a specific program.

Accessibility

Boston Symphony Hall is wheelchair accessible, with a step-free main entrance, two elevators, and seating built into the main floor for wheelchair users.

Arrive at the Cohen Wing entrance on Huntington Avenue (251 Huntington Ave), where a curb cut lets a car or van pull up right to the door. On-street accessible parking spaces are posted along St. Stephen Street and Huntington Avenue on a first-come basis, and the Christian Science Plaza and Prudential Center garages are a short walk away if the street spaces are taken.

Once inside, the Cohen Wing elevator reaches every level of the hall, and a second, glass-walled elevator on the Massachusetts Avenue side serves the first and second balconies. A ramp connects the Cohen Wing to the orchestra floor, so a wheelchair user does not need to use stairs to reach a seat in rows Q, X, or W, the rows sold as wheelchair and companion locations. Staff remove a seat to make room for the chair when you book one of these spots.

All restrooms in the building are described as accessible, and there is a gender-neutral restroom on the first balcony level near the Beranek Room. Free FM assistive listening headsets and multi-channel receivers are available, along with an induction hearing loop in the first and second balconies for hearing aids with a telecoil. Braille programs can be requested with a week's notice by calling 617-638-9431 or emailing [email protected]; large-print programs are handed out at the Massachusetts Avenue entrance without advance notice. Service animals are welcome; mention yours when you buy your ticket.

Call the Access Services line before you go if you need a specific seat pair, a sign language interpreter for a sensory-friendly concert, or help planning a transit route to the hall. The BSO's website does not say whether open captioning or audio description is offered for standard concerts, so ask directly if either one matters for your visit.

Checked by Accessible America, August 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Massachusetts

• Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Boston)
• Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum (Boston)
• Franklin Park Zoo (Boston)
• Museum of Science (Boston)
• New England Aquarium (Boston)
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston)

Photo credits

• Symphony Hall's brick and stone facade with Ionic columns stands under a clear blue sky.: Digfarenough, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source)
• Symmetric brick and stone facade of Symphony Hall with tall Ionic columns and a triangular pediment.: Digfarenough, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source)
• Visitors walk up the stone steps to Symphony Hall's columned entrance with metal handrails.: Edenaviv5, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Symphony Hall entrance with columned portico, wooden doors, and stone steps leading up from the sidewalk.: Edenaviv5, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Symphony Hall's gilded auditorium shows tiered balconies and rows of empty seats facing the stage.: Jonathan Ralton, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Empty Symphony Hall auditorium interior with tiered balconies and rows of seats facing the stage.: Jonathan Ralton, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)