Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Boston City Hall




In 1962 three professors at Columbia University won a nationwide competition, among 256 submissions, to design the Boston City Hall. In 1976, the American Institute of Architects nominated Boston City Hall as the SIXTH greatest building in American history! Wow! Well, those guys certainly do not live in Boston. Bostonians do not think much of the place and long for the pre-urban renewal days of Scollay Square. On December 12, 2006, Mayor Menino proposed selling this building, and the adjacent 8 acres of City Hall Plaza, to private developers. At that point a group of preservationists and architects filed a petition with the Boston Landmarks Commission to grant the building a special landmark status. Seems to be a quid pro quo at this point: No attempt to sell, then no status as a special landmark.

1 comment:

bucinator said...

I think it is indeed a fine piece of architecture. The problem is that the plaza around it is not very attractive (no trees, alleys with flowers,cosy bars), and sort of sets a barrier between Faneuil hall on one hand and Tremont Street/the Commons on the other hand.