Lafayette Place

datadyne007

datadyne007

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Does anyone have any information about the layout, stores that were in there, connections to DTX, etc? Do any pictures or renders exist?

I geek out about mall architecture and I never got to experience Lafayette Place. There's no information on it at all on the web.

I have surmised that the Lafayette Garage elevators (connection to Hyatt) were probably once the Lafayette Place & Garage elevators (indicator used to list stores, can't get to level 2 anymore, same model Westinghouse as the Hyatt, etc). The Lafayette Corporate Center obliterated any hints toward the old layout. There are also signs in the DTX orange line concourse that point toward Lafayette Place. I know that Jordan Marsh was extremely reduced in size to make the mall.

Thanks. =)
 
Lafayette Mall was suppose to be a new type of retail space. It was a two level circular space with restaurants lining the center courtyard where there would also be outdoor seating for these restaurants. The lighting was partially supplied by small lights in the ceiling that would "rain down" in the corridors. Most of the lighting was to come from the store windows. Since these were almost all empty and boarded up there was little light in the corridors creating a dangerous environment. If they had put temporary displays in the store fronts, with lighting, it would have been a safer environment. They were also promised by Jordan Marsh that Jordan Marsh would build an indoor street to Summer St, thereby creating an entrance off Summer St. Jordan's also said they may line this passageway with boutiques and it would be open even if Jordan Marsh was closed and the mall was open. This never happened. I use to go to an Indian restaurant there that was based in DC. I think maybe one other restaurant opened out of the 6 or 9 planned. Eventually they wound up with a McDonalds. In the end it was a gang hang out for the Columbia Point Dawgs. I'm sure I have floor plans somewhere I can try to post.
 
There used to be a great foodcourt there that I went to a few times as a kid. It was always packed from what I remember. The rest of the mall didn't really seem like a mall at all. Just a few dead stores in a circular layout... there's a reason it doesn't exist anymore.
 
PaulC said:
Lafayette Mall was suppose to be a new type of retail space. It was a two level circular space with restaurants lining the center courtyard where there would also be outdoor seating for these restaurants. The lighting was partially supplied by small lights in the ceiling that would "rain down" in the corridors. Most of the lighting was to come from the store windows. Since these were almost all empty and boarded up there was little light in the corridors creating a dangerous environment. If they had put temporary displays in the store fronts, with lighting, it would have been a safer environment. They were also promised by Jordan Marsh that Jordan Marsh would build an indoor street to Summer St, thereby creating an entrance off Summer St. Jordan's also said they may line this passageway with boutiques and it would be open even if Jordan Marsh was closed and the mall was open. This never happened. I use to go to an Indian restaurant there that was based in DC. I think maybe one other restaurant opened out of the 6 or 9 planned. Eventually they wound up with a McDonalds. In the end it was a gang hang out for the Columbia Point Dawgs. I'm sure I have floor plans somewhere I can try to post.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Plans would be awesome!
 
I also recall the busy food court and deserted corridors of stores. The mall connected directly to what was then called Hotel de Lafayette and is now (I think) Swissotel. The corridors were narrow and curving. Some shops had doors directly to Washington Street but usually these were locked and you had to go in through the mall.

Lafayette Place and Copley Place opened at the same time, and it turned out that the market couldn't support both. Copley was originally less upscale than it is today, and had its own food court.

I'm hoping Charles of the Department Store blog will step in here to say more.
 
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Ron Newman said:
I also recall the busy food court and deserted corridors of stores. The mall connected directly to what was then called Hotel de Lafayette and is now (I think) Swissotel. The corridors were narrow and curving. Some shops had doors directly to Washington Street but usually these were locked and you had to go in through the mall.

Lafayette Place and Copley Place opened at the same time, and it turned out that the market couldn't support both. Copley was originally less upscale than it is today, and had its own food court.
Click to expand...
It's now the Hyatt Regency. It's interesting how they opened at the same time, yet couldn't coexist pretty far apart from each other. Did this basically mark the start to the official demise of DTX?
 
No, because Filene's and its Basement and Jordan Marsh/Macy's kept humming along fine for many years after the mall failed.

If there was a "start to the official demise", it was the decision to merge the Federated and May department store groups (and the federal government's decision not to contest it on anti-trust grounds).
 
Ron Newman said:
No, because Filene's and its Basement and Jordan Marsh/Macy's kept humming along fine for many years after the mall failed.

If there was a "start to the official demise", it was the decision to merge the Federated and May department store groups (and the federal government's decision not to contest it on anti-trust grounds).
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That makes sense. It's just hard to understand how a mall could fail in what was hailed as the shopping hub of the universe. I didn't know if it was a sign of the changing tide of DTX. It was just interesting how you brought up Copley Place opening at the same time and the market not being able to support both. It doesn't seem like Copley would even have competed with Lafayette, due the heavy concentration of shops in the DTX area and the distance. (edit: and this is why I wanted to know what stores it had)
 
It was all small shops, no big anchors. Jordan Marsh was supposed to be the anchor. I can't remember much more. It was never even close to full.
 
There would nevere be any other big anchor stores because Filenes and Jordans had the political influence to keep any competition out.
 
I can't remember the names of the retailers. But if you want a sense of the ambiance, go to the Corner Mall, spin in place for 30 seconds, then hang out at the shops.
 
I thought the Museum Place Mall in Salem was successful? At least, it's still standing and open, unlike Lafayette Place.
 
tobyjug said:
I can't remember the names of the retailers. But if you want a sense of the ambiance, go to the Corner Mall, spin in place for 30 seconds, then hang out at the shops.
Click to expand...
So it's safe to say they were no namers. I just interested if they were chains or independent shops. A lot of chains were already in DTX, so there weren't many options to fill it.

It's hard to envision how the circular mall layout would work on that plot of land. The floorplan will be interesting to look at.
 
Ron Newman said:
I thought the Museum Place Mall in Salem was successful? At least, it's still standing and open, unlike Lafayette Place.
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Yes, it is still standing, but those stores that are open almost entirely cater to tourists. I think they make or break depending on how well they do during the month-long celebration of Halloween.
 
This is a 1982 promotional brochure for Lafayette Place. It's a poor-quality scan from a library collection. It has some drawings that show how the site was laid out.

The brochure says that Lafayette Place would include a multi-screen cinema, but this was never built.
 
There's a couple photos on flikr if you search 'lafayette place boston', can't post em since they're protected.

I only vaguely remember this before the renovation, didn't miss much apparently
 
Yeah, that's definitely "marketing" materials. I love the line, "Boston's openness to change is a powerful attraction ..."
 
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