Renovated town houses with large glass bays on the ground floor produce a delightful urban landscape.... Owners and tenants... have further animated the street by using the 25-foot (7.6 m) space between the building and the sidewalk for various purposes.

Some lots have stairs up and down to shops and galleries; others have show windows and display cases for flowers or fashions or other items for sale.

Owen Wister's novel, Philosophy 4, set in the 1870s, mentions Newbury Street: When you saw [Harvard student Oscar Maironi] seated in a car bound for Park Square, you knew he was going into Boston, where he would read manuscript essays on Botticelli or Pico della Mirandola, or manuscript translations of Armenian folksongs; read these to ecstatic, dim-eyed ladies in Newbury Street, who would pour him cups of tea when it was over, and speak of his earnestness after he was gone.

"[5] As more retailers moved in, many lower floor shops began to feature wide glass windows to exhibit luxury goods.

In the late 1950s, fashionable boutiques included Darée, Charles Sumner, Miss Harvey (at #32), furriers and Joseph Antell.

Newbury Street mavens and hipsters spent Saturday afternoons gallery hopping and enjoying the ubiquitous "wine and cheese" art openings.

"[7] Since the turn of the 21st century, Newbury Street has maintained its transformative shopping experience alongside an evolving retail industry.

[8] The street has retained both its sophisticated architectural style and its eclectic mix of retailers, from luxury brands and high-end boutiques to innovative up-and-coming companies, cafés and restaurants.

Stores such as Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Valentino, rag & bone, Jack Wills, Steven Alan, Zara, Urban Outfitters, Lady M, Uniqlo and Muji comprise the diverse retail landscape.

[9][10] Local and national celebrities such as Julian Edelman, Kanye West, Martellus Bennett, and Gretta Monahan have also created or contributed to pop up activations on Newbury Street.