Thursday morning in Copley Square starts at the Raised Grove. That is the platform under the mature trees the designers kept, with metal tables and chairs set in their shade. Across the square, the lawn now runs in front of Trinity Church. The open plaza faces Dartmouth Street, and on Tuesdays and Fridays it fills with farm tents. The City cut the ribbon on May 27, and the farmers market has set up on the plaza twice a week since its season opened on May 15.
The market's last day is Tuesday, Nov. 24. The City has set the park's official grand reopening for six days later, on Monday, Nov. 30, together with the annual tree lighting. The City built Copley Square to host markets and events, so once the market packs up for the year, the square's season is set by its scheduled events and by the buildings around it.
What the redesign built the square to do
The renovation cost $18.9 million, including design and construction, and took three years. Sasaki designed it and W.E.S. Construction Corporation built it. In the City's completion announcement, the redesigned plaza and Raised Grove are described as opening up sightlines to Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library and adding flexible space for markets and events. The City also lists fully accessible paths, rebuilt sidewalks, new seating, more tree canopy and pervious paving.
Sasaki's account of the project adds detail on how the space works:
- The plaza sits toward Dartmouth Street. Its paving can carry vehicles, and it has built-in utilities for events.
- The lawn and planting beds moved in front of Trinity Church. Sasaki puts the green space kept across the park at about 20,000 square feet.
- The Raised Grove keeps foot traffic off the roots of established trees and provides shaded seating.
- The fountain keeps its familiar design. It has new basin and mechanical systems, better lighting, and accessible routes and seating at the water's edge.
- Trees total 83 by Sasaki's count, up from 52. The City's release puts the number of new trees at 46.
The Boston Globe's editorial board reviewed the result after the May ribbon cutting and focused on the same design choice. In its June editorial, it wrote:
"It is less park and more event space — its designers and city officials have admitted as much. And because it is, its success will no longer depend on simply 'being,' but on a steady diet of active and creative programming."
The same editorial said the young trees would grow and the square would become more comfortable over time. It also noted that the park offers no easy way to get coffee or wine. The City's completion release names no new café or permanent kiosk. In summer, the market filled that role twice a week, and its last day is now close.
Five weeks left of the market
The Copley Square Farmers Market, run by Mass Farmers Markets, is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 227–230 Dartmouth St. The 2026 season runs May 15 through Nov. 24. Nov. 24 is a Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving, so the last Friday market is Nov. 20.
The market lists more than 30 Massachusetts farmers and food producers. Several sell on both days, including Charles River Farm, Langwater Farm, Red's Best Fish, Bluefin Raw Bar and Bakey Babka. Other vendors include Stillman's Farm, Dick's Market Garden, Kimball Fruit Farm, Che Empanada, Guru The Caterer and SamosaMan. The market accepts SNAP and HIP.
The buildings around the square are already running their own fall schedules. Starting this week, a Copley outing can look like this:
- Thursday, Oct. 22, at Trinity Church. Drop-In Guided Tours start at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. They last about 45 to 60 minutes and are included with admission.
- Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Central Library. The Boston Public Library's one-hour Historic Library Tour runs from 10 to 11 a.m. and again from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The BPL's tour page says these tours run weekly, require advance registration, and are posted up to a month ahead.
- Through Nov. 1 at the Central Library. "Lexicon" ends its run, which began July 21.
- Any Tuesday or Friday through Nov. 24. Visit the market on the Dartmouth Street side of the plaza.
Nov. 30: the official reopening, six months after the ribbon cutting
The park has been fully open since late May. The Boston Globe reported in May that people were already using it weeks before the formal opening. Even so, the City scheduled the official celebration for the holiday season. The 2026 Copley Square Tree Lighting is Monday, Nov. 30, from 5 to 6 p.m. at 560 Boylston St. It is free, and the City describes it as a celebration of "the grand reopening of Copley Square Park and our annual tree lighting."
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department is hosting with Friends of Copley Square, BXP, Sasaki and Fairmont Copley Plaza. H.P. Hood LLC is the sponsor, with additional support from Drake's Cakes. The program includes:
- A guided tour of the renovated square
- Arts and crafts, plus appearances by Santa Claus and Rudolph
- Performances by vocalist Joelle James, the Boston Children's Chorus and Symphonic of Emerson College
- Cookies and photos with Santa inside Fairmont Copley Plaza at 6 p.m.
The tour may be the most useful part for neighbors. People who have walked through the square all summer will hear the designers' reasoning for the plaza, the Raised Grove and the lawn's new spot at Trinity's door, on the evening the City formally presents the park.
December happens mostly around the square
The Nov. 30 lighting is the only event on the December calendar below that takes place on the plaza itself. The rest happen in Trinity Church, down Boylston Street at the Prudential Center, and along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1–31 | 31 Nights of Light, with lights turning on nightly at 5 p.m. | Prudential Tower |
| Wed., Dec. 2, 9 and 16, 4–6 p.m. | Carolers & Cocoa, with an a cappella quartet and cocoa | Boylston Arcade, beside Eataly |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Boston Common Tree Lighting, followed by the lighting of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall trees | Boston Common, then Comm Ave Mall |
| Sun., Dec. 6, 2 p.m. | Handel's Messiah, with Finzi's In Terra Pax and Britten's Ceremony of Carols | Trinity Church |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 4 and 7 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 13, 2 p.m. | Candlelight Carols | Trinity Church |
All of Trinity's holiday concerts are ticketed online. Reduced-price tickets are $4. At the Central Library, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" runs through Dec. 2, and "Becoming Boston" runs through Feb. 1, 2027.
This is the square's first winter with its new layout, and the layout puts these neighbors in view. The City designed the plaza and Raised Grove to open sightlines to Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library. In December, those two buildings host much of what draws people to Copley. Someone walking from the Messiah on Dec. 6 to a library exhibition crosses the renovated plaza, which is lit for the season after Nov. 30.
The plaza itself has room for more. Its paving is vehicle-rated and it has event utilities, so it is equipped for programming. In the City's May release, Back Bay Association president Meg Mainzer-Cohen pointed to the Summer Fitness Series and Open Mic Nights as the kind of use the new square supports. The City has also said a December date for the Open Newbury Holiday Stroll will be announced later.
If you own a home a few blocks from Copley and want to see how this year's changes around the square fit into your home's value, Cheryl Zarella & Associates can prepare a complimentary home valuation, whether you plan to sell or simply want a current number.
