Introduction
I chose my site because, after just one visit, I was certain that it fit Grady Clay’s description of an epitome district. Downtown Boston has “huge layers of symbols that have the capacity to pack up emotions, energy or history into a small space” [1]. After a semester of analyzing other aspects of the site, I now explore artifacts, connected in traces, which form the layers that I first sensed as I decided on my site. As a place with nearly 400 years of accumulated history, Downtown Boston has a multitude of layers from successive time-periods, and these layers are all within close geographic proximity of each other. Since almost the entire area of my site was settled by 1635 (Figure 1), the layers are difficult to unravel. It is not as though the layers were placed on top of one another in a geographic progression (say, from East to West). Instead, an original settlement with sparse building density allowed the other layers to fill in gaps between the original buildings and then to update individual buildings over time. Some of these updates were structural, as building technology allowed skyscrapers to rise higher and higher. Some updates involved shifts in land use. But other updates were more subtle: the installation of decoration used to lure in history-hungry tourists and the sleek, modern facades that attract Downtown’s shoppers. A walk through Downtown Boston shows many intricacies that create one more opportunity for study of the site’s history and prediction of its future. In this paper, I explore the idea that Boston has strived to maintain its historical feel for the sake of tourism and city pride, but that Downtown is interspersed with the skyscrapers that it needs to maintain a busy financial district.
Figure 1: “A Plan of the Town of Boston (1775).” Accessed online through http://www.bostonbyfoot.org/docs/maps/boston-1775.JPG
A trend of celebrating colonial artifacts
Figure 1, above, shows the 1635 foundation of my site. Highlighted in yellow are the three original buildings that still stand today. Of the three, only Kings Chapel is still used for its original purpose today (a sign is shown in Figure 2). The Old South Meeting House and Old State House, like several other old buildings in Downtown, are now partially used as museums. These landmarks and others that are slightly younger, but still of historical significance, have been preserved by several organizations. I took note of each of the organization names on the various plaques adorning the exteriors of historically-significant buildings: the most prevalent was the Bostonian Society. The City of Boston’s Landmarks Commission, Boston 200 (Bicentennial Celebration group), Architectural Heritage Foundation, City of Boston Parks Commission, Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the US Department of the Interior National Park Service also bought signs that explained the importance of various buildings throughout my site. The sheer number of groups that were involved in preserving and highlighting the history of Boston demonstrates the prioritization of historical appreciation over the past century. Boston is one of many American cities that ostentatiously celebrates its heritage and draws tourists to its old buildings. The efforts of Boston’s preservation groups contribute to this national trend. Downtown Boston even includes a part of the city’s method of tracing out the many significant buildings still standing: the Freedom Trail (Figure 3). Boston has literally connected the dots between its artifacts of the 17th and 18th centuries, allowing for easy appreciation of the sites by tourists.
In some cases, buildings of historical significance are not used as museums, but they still have an indication of their history to inform visitors. Figure 4 shows a Chipotle restaurant whose sign explains that the building used to house the publishing company for Hawthorne, Longfellow, Stowe, Emerson, Thoreau and other prominent American and British authors. There is also a poster on the door that says “This Building Has History” and includes a Quick Response (QR) code. Even as new technologies have flourished in Boston, the city has found ways such as this to integrate history into its future.
Emphasis on historical preservation is not the only reason that some streets in Downtown Boston feel somewhat quaint. Many museums are surrounded by shops to lure tourists to buy souvenirs, restaurants to stop for a bite to eat, and services that appear to try to blend in with their surroundings. To that end, many signs look antique and charming, so that you might imagine that the corner Starbucks had seen the American Revolution (Figure 5). Also consistent with this trend, a building that was not constructed until 1977 holding a Macy’s that was not opened until 1996 has a very traditional-looking plaque at its main entrance (Figure 6).
The brightly-colored Winthrop building stands out in a neighborhood with mostly neutral buildings surrounding it (Figure 7). However, closer inspection (Figure 8) revealed that it is special due to more than its flamboyance: it was built in 1893 and was Boston’s first steel frame skyscraper. It is also located on the site of the home of the original colonial governor, John Winthrop (Figure 9).
Growth surrounding artifacts
The area surrounding the Old South Meeting House (shaded in green in Figure 10) is layered complexly and appears to be trending towards commercial growth. A tall skyscraper can be seen in the background (shaded in blue) and several restaurants are on the periphery of this photograph. The neighborhood is dominated by a Walgreens that is under construction (shaded in red). This Walgreens has a QR code like the Chipotle in Figure 4 because it is on the site of a former 18th century French Huguenot church.
The Walgreens building itself is interesting to me because it integrates the two contrasting aspects of Downtown Boston’s architecture. Figure 11 shows the Greco-Roman-style façade with its columns, cast-iron, neutral colors, original engraving (labeling it as a bank building) and antique-gold “W” sign. But Figure 12 shows a very different style: tall windows as walls, brightly-colored “coming soon” signs, and a huge interior sign that includes (comical) references to Boston’s rich culture and history: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of a goal at the garden. Paul Revere makes a ride (…the rest of the sentence isn’t visible). Revolutionary salad,” etc.
Layers intertwined
The neighborhood of the Old South Meeting House and the Walgreens is one of many examples on my site that illustrates my understanding of Downtown Boston: that it is a district that appreciates its past and uses its appeal to visitors in order to grow in the future. In the geographical dimension, layers from various time periods are all over my site. I found no geographical progression in age, since the site’s development did not expand in a particular direction. Instead, I found areas like Figure 13, which have buildings from many eras within a relatively small area. Below, various 20th century buildings (including One Boston Place) surround the Old State House. The yellow building used to be a 17th century meeting house, but now has a liquor store and a shoe store on the first floor. Even the Old State House itself is a hybrid of multiple eras: there is a museum on the right side of the building, but the “State” T stop on the left (Figures 14 and 15).
Old City Hall is labeled by a plaque that reads: “This building was the center of Boston’s political history from 1865 to 1969. City Hall was renovated into a modern office building and restaurant in 1970. This conversion began the new concept of recycling underutilized municipal properties by adaptive reuse,” and demonstrating the willingness of Boston to preserve its history while promoting commercial growth. As I explored City Hall, I discovered a phenomenon of glamorization of the history of Boston that is consistent with my idea that a trend in Downtown is promoting the tourism of the city. I happen to be an admirer of Benjamin Franklin’s accomplishments, and for a past research paper that I wrote, I learned that he only attended school for one year before self-teaching everything that allowed him to become so successful. So when I entered Old City Hall, which was the former site of the famous Boston Latin School, and saw Figure 17, I looked more closely at the various pieces of historical information in the building’s entryway.
On a different painting, I found the following words: “Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was born in Boston and attended school on this site before pursuing a distinguished career as an author, inventor, politician and statesman.” Given what I already knew about Franklin’s very short school career, it seems that the society embellished the historical information in the building’s interior, making it appear that the Boston Latin School was responsible for preparing Franklin for his illustrious career. As Spirn says, “humans are storytelling animals,” and sometimes the storytellers mislead the eager listeners in order to build excitement [2]. If I was more familiar with other aspects of Revolutionary history, I would have looked further into this observation at the other historical buildings on my site. As it stands, this observation reinforces my theory that many stakeholders in Downtown want to milk the historical image of the city without appearing too old-fashioned.
A particularly intricate example of this is the Omni Parker House hotel, with its extravagant, gilded façade, luxurious marble columns and polished, rare green granite (Figure 20). Plaques (Figure 18) inform visitors of its historical importance and label it as doubly important because it is across the street from the former site of the Boston Latin School. Omni Parker also claims that it is home to the first Boston Cream Pie (Figure 19), which is arguably of more historical importance than its location near the first American public school.
One of the characteristics that initially drew me to my site was the variety of building/facade materials there. The Omni Parker is a particularly extravagant example (Figure 20). To further demonstrate this trend, some eclectic building materials on Tremont Street are shown in Figure 21. In general on my site, it appears that building owners have prioritized upgrading the facades of the first floor or two, but have maintained the original brick of the top stories. I hypothesize that the use of beautiful marbles and granites is meant to attract customers with good taste to upscale restaurants, hotels, banks and shops. Such customers would rarely look up at the less-refined levels of the buildings, but even if they did, they would still see aesthetically pleasing brickwork.
A trace of Newspaper Row
Washington Street (by Milk Street) used to be home to the offices of Boston’s many periodicals. The street used to be a row – a trace – of the various newspaper buildings (Figures 22 and 23), but currently only one artifact remains (Figure 24). Three buildings in proximity to one another (shaded in red, below) have “For lease” signs posted and appear to be vacant. There are two other buildings (blue and purple) that now house (currently operational) retail locations.
Commercial struggles
With the advent of suburban shopping malls (as described by Sam Bass Warner, Jr. in 4.211 class), the need for huge, Downtown department stores, such as Filenes (Figure 25) and Woolworth’s was eliminated. I also hypothesize that online shopping has made it easier for consumers to compare prices, so department stores (that are often more expensive than other retailers) have been struggling. Figure 26 shows a row of commercial/mixed use space that is mostly for lease. Over a distance of just 2 blocks on one side of the road, I counted 15 “for lease” signs on different buildings.
Retailers are finding ways to draw crowds back to Washington Street and to Downtown shopping in general, by offering special discounts to visitors and by making the neighborhoods more pedestrian-friendly (Figure 27).
People will never have the dependence that they once had on Downtown department stores, but it seems that some of them still remember that it is convenient to be able to see, touch and try on the products that they are considering buying. If the various store owners in Downtown Boston are able to maintain or increase sales, perhaps as Macy’s did (considering that it has succeeded while other department stores have not), the “for lease” signs on Washington Street will become signs for new stores and restaurants.
Conclusion
In my site selection paper, I asked: “What stories can I uncover in the juxtaposition of 18th century historical sites against modern skyscrapers; graves of revolutionaries next to subway stations?” I believe that I have uncovered a story of shifting commercialism, booming tourism, increasing materialism, and glorification of American history. “Cultural identity, social history, and urban design are here intertwined,” such that we see the strong connection that Boston has with its past, the value It places on luxury and beauty, the hope it has to keep up with the passing of time but the stubbornness with which it holds on to some of the urban forms that are 400 years old [3]. Downtown Boston is a district that is constantly in flux and that shows evidence of both modernity and growth. In the near future, I foresee that the areas that are struggling will recover, because Downtown Boston has found a way to attract visitors that are interested in learning about its past and buying in the present.
Bibliography:
[1] Clay, Grady. Close-Up: How to Read the American City. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL. 1980: pp. 11-16, 38-65.
[2]Spirn, Anne. The Language of Landscape. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. 1998: 11.
[3] Hayden, Dolores. The Power of Place. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. 1995: 15.
“12.001 Field Trip 1: Boston Rocks Walking Tour 2011.” http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/earth-atmospheric-and-planetary-sciences/12-001-introduction-to-geology-spring-2011/field-trips/MIT12_001S11_BoRo2011.pdf. Accessed February 17, 2013.