"Dirty Old Boston"

The EGE said:
It's the Fiske Building:
en.wikipedia.org

Fiske Building - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

And yes, there was a 1964 renovation which added 5 very ugly stories.
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Here's the full version of the picture from that page:

1708117218128.png

 
DZH22 said:
It's the building that got replaced by 75 State Street, the stumpy one with the gold top. The angle is basically standing near the clocktower (which would be to the back left maybe a block behind) and look towards the Old State House, which you can barely make out at the end of the road. Today the view is dominated by 1 Boston Place framing the State House.
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I didn't even notice the Old State House in the old photo until you pointed it out. I guess I should have zoomed in. Thanks!
 
DZH22 said:
Off the top of my head I believe there was some sort of renovation that ruined the building's aesthetics long before it got torn down. I'll see if I can dig up more information later.
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That (misguided renovation) seems all too likely and typical, sadly. I wasn't able to find any pix of the previous structure in the '60s or '70s or '80s prior to what's currently there, but I also only spent about 10 minutes.
 
 
chrisbrat said:
These are way better shots of this... abomination! I realize this is not an original thought, but what the heck was going through so many folks' collective minds during that era?
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As I recall, the city planning and architectural approach in the 60s was to downplay the past and lunge into the future, in a kind of frenzied collective amnesia. The Great Depression and WW II were traumatic episodes that people wanted to forget by going all in on the post WW II shiny promise of a bright future. Also, Boston was afraid of falling behind the newly ascendent suburbs and sun belt cities. So the solution was to basically ignore history and historic buildings and build anything and everything ASAP to try to keep ahead of the curve, tearing down or ripping apart anything that got in the way. The massive 1960s urban renewal projects, and the obliteration of many historic buildings in addition, are all a testament to this.
 
Charlie_mta said:
As I recall, the city planning and architectural approach in the 60s was to downplay the past and lunge into the future, in a kind of frenzied collective amnesia. The Great Depression and WW II were traumatic episodes that people wanted to forget by going all in on the post WW II shiny promise of a bright future. Also, Boston was afraid of falling behind the newly ascendent suburbs and sun belt cities. So the solution was to basically ignore history and historic buildings and build anything and everything ASAP to try to keep ahead of the curve, tearing down or ripping apart anything that got in the way. The massive 1960s urban renewal projects, and the obliteration of many historic buildings in addition, are all a testament to this.
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You definitely don't need a war to trigger such a mindset. The exact same philosophy and actions are taking place in China right now.
 
Teban54 said:
You definitely don't need a war to trigger such a mindset. The exact same philosophy and actions are taking place in China right now.
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It's interesting how the European cites after WW II, many of them with large bombed-out areas from the war, took a much more restorative approach than the American cities did with 50s and 60s urban renewal redevelopments. The Europeans made an effort to continue the history and historic look of their cities, while the Americans seemed to want to bury the past and launch a type of futuristic adventure. And I agree that China is that way now.
 
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The phrase I remember hearing over and over again in the 60’s was the juxtaposition of the old and the new’.
 
Charlie_mta said:
I'm not so sure about that. The US, and the world for that matter, is in a malaise due to Covid and the political polarization nationally. If somehow we can greatly reduce the inequality in this country, get past racism and get the underclass unstuck, there are no limits to the future for Boston and everywhere else.
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It's over----Matter of time before the banking system collapses now. Give it 2-years before the Private Fed rolls out the funny money printer.

Mayor Wu----Who certainty deserves to be mayor of Boston as a Chicago native another Harvard educator who seems to not understand economics.
The American People will continue to see an inflationary depression as the US Dollar will continue to be debased to pay back all this debt these politicians have created

Bad Deals like this will continue to suppress economic freedom and continue to deteriorate the working class Americans and keep them homeless across our nation.
"Mayor Michelle Wu has proposed property tax breaks of up to 75 percent over 29 years for downtown office conversions, the Boston Business Journal reported. It’s the first financial incentive the city has proposed providing to office owners."

Not good

But don't worry thou our senators like Elizabeth Warren and Nancy Pelosi are multi-millionaires.

This should be the FUTURE of Boston
Need a visionary for the infrastructure upgrades for the MBTA
 
chrisbrat said:
curious about the flag on the right
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Speculation: It looks like a Red Ensign with the Royal Union in the canton; since this is from 1875, that's during the Dominion of Canada's early Confederation (1867- ) period, when the Red Ensign was commonly used for lack of a proper Dominion flag. It's also a few years after the Great Fire of Boston destroyed the heart of the old city just to the south of the photo - while the Duke of Devonshire's largess helped finance reconstruction, I am not sure if the flag's use was in any other related connection, but I mention it in case it's grist for other musings.
 
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