This view from the top of the Merkert Chemistry Center takes in a portion of the diamond used by the women's softball team, the 135-acre Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and the skyscrapers of downtown Boston, just six miles away. Boston College was originally located in the city’s South End—an area to the right of the two tallest buildings on the horizon, the John Hancock Tower (left), built in 1976, and the Prudential Building, built in 1964.
Boston College was founded in 1863 to serve the sons of Irish Catholic immigrants who were a large and growing part of Boston’s population. As the city grew, so did Boston College’s scope and ambition. A search for more land prompted a move in 1913 to what is today the University’s 116-acre main campus in Chestnut Hill.
Linked to downtown by a trolley stop beside the campus, Boston College is also connected to its namesake city by student jobs and internships in the finance, medicine, education, law, communications, arts, and social services sectors; by the University’s sponsorship of service programs in Boston neighborhoods; and by Boston’s cultural institutions, which constitute a vast resource for students, faculty, and visitors.
“A very, very brief history of Boston College,” video from @BC
BC women's softball team website
Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau