For those traveling to the Bentley Arena for the first time, the arena is on the south side of Beaver Street a couple hundred yards down the hill and under the flashy pedestrian bridge from Chuck’s noted intersection with Forest Street, which intersects Trapelo Road about a mile north, in turn about 2 miles east of Rte 128 exit.
The Bentley Arena, along with other athletic facilities and some dorms, lies on the so-called South Campus, on 33 acres purchased from the DeVincent family’s farmland for $17 mil in 1999. The LEED Platinum certified arena was built for $45 mil and opened in February 2018.
Contrast with Bentley’ purchase of its 163 hilltop acres from the Lyman estate for $345 k in 1962. The initial 12 buildings in Waltham opened for classes in 1965 following sale of its property in Boston’s Back Bay (Huntington Avenue and Boylston and Tremont Streets, near Copley Square).
If you arrive early, a drive through campus to view the Georgian Colonial building architecture is worth the effort. If you like viewing Google Earth, the building ridgelines are aligned at exactly 45 degrees from true north.
There is a pricey parking lot adjacent to the Arena and free parking a short walk away near the Dana Center, which houses a swimming pool and a basketball court. Bentley remains primarily a basketball school, with a women’s Div 2 NC title.
Neat travelogue, Snives - kudos!! The idea nowadays of purchasing a 16 acre parcel anywhere inside Route 128 (much less 160+ acres) that is not submerged by water, for a mere $345K is mind-boggling, I guess it just goes to show how much times have changed over the course of my lifetime.
I did not know the alma mater purchased the land from the Lyman estate, but IIRC the Lyman name was still prominent in the area when I was attending. Some quick research confirms Lyman St. was/is the main road north to campus from the city, and the remaining Lyman estate is on the National Historic Register, also in the shadows of the intersection of Beaver and Forest. Nothing but fond memories, but my long-awaited return shall have to wait 'til next time ...
I'll add that while I was not old enough to ever see any active Bentley presence in their original Boston neighborhood ... courtesy of AI, their primary location for much of its time in Boston was at 915 Boylston St. (later renumbered 921 Boylston St.), a four-story building that was originally an automobile dealership, and is now owned by Berklee (the music school). That's a pretty colorful and diverse set of commercial purposes, all bridged within a 50 year span. Bravo Bentley!
QUICK QUIZ: Three miles almost due east from the Bentley campus, just past the eastern terminus of Trapelo Road where it merges with Belmont St. in Watertown MA, there was another musical landmark, formerly known as Foxglove Studios on School St. What musical artist is most closely associated with this location?
(Snives, since my time at BC - now BU - overlapped the late '70's/early '80's, this used to be common knowledge back in the day, so I'll only ask that you leave this one for others for at least 24 hours, since I have no doubt you will know this answer)
