15-25 Harrison Ave | Chinatown
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JeffDowntown
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Good project. Big issue in most of these small footprint hotel projects, the curb space does not accommodate the vehicle demand created by the site (Uber, taxi, door dash...), so they block the road.
Absurd prices but also mid-September is usually when Mom and Dad come visit their freshmen kids at college. It's like the 2nd weekend at school.
I'd be more curious what it is like say middle of June or early December.
JohnCostello
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Luckily it fronts on one of the widest spaces downtown.
stick n move
Superstar
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Nice! Its not every day that you get a brand new high rise proposal in boston. With how few lots there are and how long the process takes most lots are spoken for at this point and any news you get is usually an update to something that has already had a proposal before. To get a brand new high rise proposal where there had not been any proposal before is soo exceedingly rare now that when it happens its hard to believe. Especially after the boom and then bust that boston has gone through to get one now is crazy. Hopefully there are more to come still.
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275ish ft. Not amazingly tall in a way that'll impact the skyline from afar, really, but 106 additional hotel rooms will help activate Chinatown and the CBD way more than the 5-story that's presently there.
The current building at that spot is nice enough and is pre-war, but it wouldn't be a massive loss, unlike some recent ones (the WHOOP lot, SC&L, etc.).
The current building at that spot is nice enough and is pre-war, but it wouldn't be a massive loss, unlike some recent ones (the WHOOP lot, SC&L, etc.).
JeffDowntown
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The current building is nice enough, but apparently it is structurally a mess due to poor internal modifications. Probably easiest that it goes anyway (costly to save).
Unless its been fixed up since the October 2023 Google, I don't share your opinion of that current building. It looks dull and decrepit to me. Unless it has historical significance, I hope it gets replaced by this hotel quickly.
Looking ahead, if they could develop on the next door surface parking lot AND this ugly low rise across the street, that neighborhood could be nicely transformed:
JeffDowntown
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The ugly low rise across the street is a telecom switchgear building (bunker) -- not likely going anywhere.Unless its been fixed up since the October 2023 Google, I don't share your opinion of that current building. It looks dull and decrepit to me. Unless it has historical significance, I hope it gets replaced by this hotel quickly.
Looking ahead, if they could develop on the next door surface parking lot AND this ugly low rise across the street, that neighborhood could be nicely transformed:
The problem with most of the parking lot parcels in Chinatown is they are not single parcels -- they are usually multiple small historical former row house parcels, owned by multiple family trusts. Every family thinks that their 20 x 50 parcel is the lynchpin parcel for development, so everyone holds out for way too much money and nothing gets developed.
You don't share my "opinion" that the building is "nice enough" and "pre-war"?Unless its been fixed up since the October 2023 Google, I don't share your opinion of that current building. It looks dull and decrepit to me. Unless it has historical significance, I hope it gets replaced by this hotel quickly.
Looking ahead, if they could develop on the next door surface parking lot AND this ugly low rise across the street, that neighborhood could be nicely transformed:
Shots fired!
Justbuildit
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That vacant parking lot on the corner of Essex and Harrison is currently on the market for the low price of $45M!
33-37 Essex Street, Boston, MA, 02111 - $45,000,000
https://compass.com/listing/1562450199817676921/view
33-37 Essex Street, Boston, MA, 02111 - $45,000,000
https://compass.com/listing/1562450199817676921/view
You don't share my "opinion" that the building is "nice enough" and "pre-war"?
Shots fired!
One for two! “ Pre-war“ is a fact. “Nice enough” is the opinion. And, nope, I don’t share it. Perhaps it has a “good personality”?
Site History
In the 18th century, this location was on what was then considered the South End, on the western side of Ransford's (or Rainsford's) Lane. At that time it was just to the north of the town's shoreline, adjacent to several wharves and distilleries.
Site in 1722
Between 1764 and 1769, several parcels between Rainsford's Lane and Orange (now Washington) Street were purchased by John Haskins, a cooper who inherited a business from his father-in-law. In 1765 he built a substantial house on the Rainsford's Lane side. This property had a large garden known for its plums and pears, and in its early years a carriage-way extended through the grounds from Rainsford's Lane to Orange Street. During the Revolutionary era, Haskins initially joined the Sons of Liberty but later became a moderate royalist; he stayed in Boston during the 1775-1776 siege and gave his allegiance to the new government after the British evacuation. He remained at the house until his death in 1814, as did his wife until her passing five years later. The property thereafter continued to be the home of his three unmarried daughters for around the next half-century.
John Haskins residence
In 1824, Ransford's Lane was turned into a northern extension of Front Street. In April 1841 Front Street was renamed to Harrison Avenue, in honor of President Harrison who had died earlier that month. Over the course of the 1830s and 1840s the southeast coast of Boston was filled in by the railroad companies, causing the site to lose its proximity to the waterfront.
Site in 1814
Site in 1852
In 1862, the City of Boston opened a primary school called the Savage School on the site. For a period of time, some classes of the Boston Latin School were held at this facility.
In the early 1880s, a minor controversy erupted when the city attempted to force the Boston School Committee to abandon its existing headquarters on Mason Street and take up occupancy in the Savage School instead. The Committee however objected to this proposal and was able to kill it. In 1883 the Savage School lot was put up for auction, and in the following year it was demolished.
Site in 1867
Beginning in the late 1870s, Chinese immigrants started moving into Boston in force. Initially centering themselves along Harrison Avenue between Essex and Beach Streets, their presence came to be negatively received by city officials. In the early 1890s the city decided to widen that stretch of Harrison Avenue, ostensibly because it would improve rapid transit capabilities and convince real estate builders of the viability of constructing modern projects at the location. City officials and the press, however, were openly ecstatic about another aspect of the widening, arguing (in hindsight, incorrectly) that the prospect that this project would result in the elimination of the "iniquitous Chinese quarter" of the "little brown men of the Orient" and that if it went through, ""Chinatown, now an eyesore alike to pedestrians and property owners thereabout, would become a thing of the past."
Delineation of Chinatown, vs. Proposed Widening, 1893
Harrison Avenue, looking north from Beach Street, before widening, 1893
Harrison Avenue, looking north from Beach Street, during widening, 1894
Meanwhile, in 1891 the John H. Pray & Sons Co., a carpet and upholstery company, decided to build a new six-story building on 658 Washington Street immediately opposite the site, in what was then characterized as the "very heart of the [downtown] retail district."
Following the widening of Harrison Avenue, Pray & Sons announced its intention to expand its building to 19-25 Harrison in 1894, and constructed the four-story property currently on the site. As originally designed, the building had a panel brick and Queen Anne style to it, though this was later covered up by the current stucco treatment.
658 Washington Street, following completion
Announcement of the 19-25 Harrison Avenue development
In October 1903, 19-25 Harrison was used as a temporary detention center for Chinese residents swept up in an anti-immigration police raid. The operation, described at the time as the largest in Boston's history, resulted in 234 men being arrested, of whom 52 were ultimately deported.
In 1911, a portion of 658 Washington Street was remodeled into the Olympia Theatre. At the same time, 19-25 Harrison was converted into a hotel, which opened in 1912 as "Hotel Maxim." This enterprise did not however survive the decade.
The Olympia Theatre, Washington Street
Hotel Maxim, 1917
In the following decades the former Pray Buildings shared a fairly typical trajectory for a Chinatown property. On the Washington Street side, the Olympic became the Pilgrim in the 1950s; it subsequently became a part of the Combat Zone and was finally replaced by the 660 Washington residential tower in 2006. As for 19-25 Harrison, it became the home of a long-running grocery store (Sun See Market) and apartments. In 2012, firefighters responding to a false alarm found over 33 households living in "deplorable living conditions" and the city forcefully emptied the residences.
Harrison Avenue looking north, 1930
19-25 Harrison Avenue, late 20th century
658 Washington Street in the Combat Zone
660 Washington Street
In the 18th century, this location was on what was then considered the South End, on the western side of Ransford's (or Rainsford's) Lane. At that time it was just to the north of the town's shoreline, adjacent to several wharves and distilleries.
Site in 1722
Between 1764 and 1769, several parcels between Rainsford's Lane and Orange (now Washington) Street were purchased by John Haskins, a cooper who inherited a business from his father-in-law. In 1765 he built a substantial house on the Rainsford's Lane side. This property had a large garden known for its plums and pears, and in its early years a carriage-way extended through the grounds from Rainsford's Lane to Orange Street. During the Revolutionary era, Haskins initially joined the Sons of Liberty but later became a moderate royalist; he stayed in Boston during the 1775-1776 siege and gave his allegiance to the new government after the British evacuation. He remained at the house until his death in 1814, as did his wife until her passing five years later. The property thereafter continued to be the home of his three unmarried daughters for around the next half-century.
John Haskins residence
In 1824, Ransford's Lane was turned into a northern extension of Front Street. In April 1841 Front Street was renamed to Harrison Avenue, in honor of President Harrison who had died earlier that month. Over the course of the 1830s and 1840s the southeast coast of Boston was filled in by the railroad companies, causing the site to lose its proximity to the waterfront.
Site in 1814
Site in 1852
In 1862, the City of Boston opened a primary school called the Savage School on the site. For a period of time, some classes of the Boston Latin School were held at this facility.
In the early 1880s, a minor controversy erupted when the city attempted to force the Boston School Committee to abandon its existing headquarters on Mason Street and take up occupancy in the Savage School instead. The Committee however objected to this proposal and was able to kill it. In 1883 the Savage School lot was put up for auction, and in the following year it was demolished.
Site in 1867
Beginning in the late 1870s, Chinese immigrants started moving into Boston in force. Initially centering themselves along Harrison Avenue between Essex and Beach Streets, their presence came to be negatively received by city officials. In the early 1890s the city decided to widen that stretch of Harrison Avenue, ostensibly because it would improve rapid transit capabilities and convince real estate builders of the viability of constructing modern projects at the location. City officials and the press, however, were openly ecstatic about another aspect of the widening, arguing (in hindsight, incorrectly) that the prospect that this project would result in the elimination of the "iniquitous Chinese quarter" of the "little brown men of the Orient" and that if it went through, ""Chinatown, now an eyesore alike to pedestrians and property owners thereabout, would become a thing of the past."
Delineation of Chinatown, vs. Proposed Widening, 1893
Harrison Avenue, looking north from Beach Street, before widening, 1893
Harrison Avenue, looking north from Beach Street, during widening, 1894
Meanwhile, in 1891 the John H. Pray & Sons Co., a carpet and upholstery company, decided to build a new six-story building on 658 Washington Street immediately opposite the site, in what was then characterized as the "very heart of the [downtown] retail district."
Following the widening of Harrison Avenue, Pray & Sons announced its intention to expand its building to 19-25 Harrison in 1894, and constructed the four-story property currently on the site. As originally designed, the building had a panel brick and Queen Anne style to it, though this was later covered up by the current stucco treatment.
658 Washington Street, following completion
Announcement of the 19-25 Harrison Avenue development
In October 1903, 19-25 Harrison was used as a temporary detention center for Chinese residents swept up in an anti-immigration police raid. The operation, described at the time as the largest in Boston's history, resulted in 234 men being arrested, of whom 52 were ultimately deported.
In 1911, a portion of 658 Washington Street was remodeled into the Olympia Theatre. At the same time, 19-25 Harrison was converted into a hotel, which opened in 1912 as "Hotel Maxim." This enterprise did not however survive the decade.
The Olympia Theatre, Washington Street
Hotel Maxim, 1917
In the following decades the former Pray Buildings shared a fairly typical trajectory for a Chinatown property. On the Washington Street side, the Olympic became the Pilgrim in the 1950s; it subsequently became a part of the Combat Zone and was finally replaced by the 660 Washington residential tower in 2006. As for 19-25 Harrison, it became the home of a long-running grocery store (Sun See Market) and apartments. In 2012, firefighters responding to a false alarm found over 33 households living in "deplorable living conditions" and the city forcefully emptied the residences.
Harrison Avenue looking north, 1930
19-25 Harrison Avenue, late 20th century
658 Washington Street in the Combat Zone
660 Washington Street
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RandomWalk
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The proposal would do a good job of hiding the awkward back side of 660 Washington.