🏛️ Newton’s brand-new three-floor rec center — free to attend, open seven days a week, with family and early-childhood programming mixed in.
Newton’s new city rec center opened in December 2025 at the corner of Walnut Street and Highland Ave in Newtonville, named for longtime community leader Audrey Cooper. It’s built around older adults but deliberately open to all ages — the city’s stated goal is an intergenerational space — with a basketball gym, a walking track that circles above it (16 laps to a mile), game rooms and a multipurpose room. More than 100 programs run each week, Parks & Recreation runs its own programs in the building, and there is no fee to attend. For families with little ones, the standout is a drop-in intergenerational music hour for ages 0–5 with a grandparent or caregiver, Mondays 10–11 AM, led by an Early Childhood Specialist and a Board-Certified Music Therapist — both All Newton Music School faculty — with singing, movement and instrument play. $5 per child, no RSVP needed.
Yes — the center is designed to be intergenerational and welcoming to all ages, not just older adults. Its clearest family draw is a drop-in music and movement hour for ages 0–5 with a grandparent or caregiver, Mondays 10–11 AM in the Multipurpose Room, $5 per child with no RSVP required.
Monday–Thursday 7 AM–8 PM, Friday 7 AM–4 PM, and Saturday and Sunday 9 AM–4 PM, except City holidays. There is no fee or cost to attend the Cooper Center for Active Living. The main office number is 617-796-1660.
An Early Childhood Specialist and a Board-Certified Music Therapist, both faculty at All Newton Music School, in partnership with the Cooper Center. The session mixes singing, movement and instrument play for young children alongside older adults.
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