The Boulevard (née The Times/Littlest Bar) | 110 Broad St | Downtown

Jouhou said:
Honestly, where are the NIMBYs when something other than a parking garage is getting torn down? I would have thought they'd be preserving more of this rather than unceremoniously smashing it down...
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They're here, complaining about Park Plaza's new Grand Ballroom lacking authentic Victorian/Queen Anne Revival richness after being stood up at the prom and not getting their slow dance below the Baccarat chandeliers.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifesty...-dame-hotel/M1ra0K1o2lQeEL2gjBdZON/story.html


In any case, word will soon get around about this latest deed of horror.
 
Whigh, right now I'm not seeing cautious preservation of the facade happening, I see a picture of construction equipment smashing from the top down both buildings without regard for any of the facade they are supposedly keeping.
 
Jouhou said:
Whigh, right now I'm not seeing cautious preservation of the facade happening, I see a picture of construction equipment smashing from the top down both buildings without regard for any of the facade they are supposedly keeping.
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Jouhou -- you might be right -- I've not been down there since before the destruction started

we need the view in this post from Beeline
BeeLine said:
https://flic.kr/p/Gp9fqx
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stick n move said:
I havent payed attention to this until like 2 days ago but this actually looks good and meshes with the surrounding area. I went through the entire thread these have not been shown here, although very similar renders have. This is the design we currently stand with at the moment. Not bad if I do say so myself. I agree with other posters on here let the Custom house tower be shown. 99.9% chance whatever would have been built here if they went tall would not have been better. Anybody can have a skinny glass tower in 2016, nobody else can have a Custom House tower.

110-Broad-Street-Finegold-Alexander-Architects-1-1280x851.jpg


110-Broad-Street-Finegold-Alexander-Architects-4.jpg
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Why couldn't they have done the cladding and windows to be more similar to the older buildings nearby?
 
odurandina said:
Why couldn't they have done the cladding and windows to be more similar to the older buildings nearby?
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That would cost money, although I would think that this location is good enough so that more investment in the facade should be completed.
 
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For those suggesting that the developer is skimping on materials for the new building, the cost of restoring the Bulfinch building will be significant. The renderings indicate this will be a restoration of the full structure, not just preserving the facade as was done with Hong Lok.
 
What's the over/under on the developer "accidentally" demolishing too much, and then asking to just take the rest down because he can't preserve it anymore.
 
If it wasn't a Bulfinch I'd be more worried. I'm guessing there would be hell to pay if screwed this up.
 
I hope they preserve the star-shaped medallions on the brick. They are not shown on the render.
 
Probably not. I imagine they were added at a much later date to prevent the facade from peeling away. (There is probably a technical term for this. - Edit: delamination)
 
Now that you mention it, their placement seems a bit sporadic and non-symmetric. When a building is this old, even the century-later additions start to look original at first glance. But I think you're right. In that case, I hope they restore it to some semblance of original design intent.
 
davem said:
This doesn't look like restoration to me:
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Davem -- look at Beeline's pix -- you are looking at the backside of the Non-Bulfinch part of the hybrid structure

These places have evolved over time, just as in the photo I posted showing the stuff that was glommed-onto the Bulfinch designed Harrison Gray Otis House #1 on Cambridge Street

For someone interested in preservation -- even the ornate Victorian Balcony and the Oriel Window in the center above the original doorway was inappropriate to the period of interest

as abusively re-used circa 1911
827_1911-10-23-coba.jpg

as restored
image_preview


Even the Old State House aquired some external addtions when it was aboujt 150+ years old [circa the Civil War]
012_1860c-2Bbpl.jpg


compared to today
012_2013.jpg
 
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It's likely that at least some of what was behind the facade dates back to the original Bulfinch design (unless you have knowledge of an earlier facadectomy). Hopefully anything of note that remained was salvaged before demo began.

But to your point, yes, a lot of out 'historic' buildings suffer from the 'grandfather's ax' problem.
 
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