Peabody and Stearns

[Joe_Schmoe]

It has been said that Peabody and Stearns was to Boston what McKim, Mead, and White were to New York. But I think, given the choice between the two, I'd pick Peabody and Stearns. There was something particularly Bostonian about Peabody and Stearns that MMW lacked. They were more restrained, less monumental; they never became quite as bombastic as MMW could be at times. Unfortunately, three of Peabody and Stearns' greatest Boston buildings--the Boston and Providence railroad station, R.H. White's department store, and the amazing New England Mutual Life Insurance building--have all been lost. Only the Custom House tower remains.
You can go to the architecture room of the Boston Public library and peruse the firm's records. There you will find lists of all of Peabody and Stearns works. One of the most depressing tasks was tracking down many many addresses that were listed there, only to find undistinguished modern buildings sitting in their place.


New England Mutual Life Insurance

RH White

Boston and Providence railroad

Custom House Tower

Hotel Brunswick

70 State

Chickering Hall

New England Telephone, Oliver St

Monk Building, 35 Congress

Simmons college

Russia Wharf

Exchange Place

Fiske Building

Angell Memorial fountain

Townhouses

Misc. Commercial buildings

 

[JimboJones]

Thank you

I just got a massive hard-on from those photos.

Thank you.

 

[lexicon506]

WHY!!!?!?!?!?!
please don't tell me this building was torn down...it caught fire, right?!

 

[Joe_Schmoe]

Nope. Torn down for a parking garage.

 

[Ron Newman]

Where was New England Mutual?

Chickering Hall was next to Horticultural Hall. It became Loew's St. James Theatre and then the Uptown Theatre, which showed movies until the 1960s. Emerson College briefly occupied it in the early 1900s. It was torn down for the Christian Science Center; the Sunday School building stands in about the same place today.

 

[Joe_Schmoe]

Post office Sq, where the park is now.

 

[PerfectHandle]

Almost all of those residences are in my top 10 Back Bay buildings. I didn't realize they were all the same firm. Wow.

 

[Ron Newman]

Is the Boston & Providence railroad station site now the Park Plaza Hotel? Or the Motor Mart Garage? (Both fine buildings, by the way).

 

[touqen]

It is really unfortunate that so many of those buildings are gone. Tis the price we pay for innovation.

 

[nico]

^Across the street from the emancipation statue, in that new plaza behind the 4 Seasons there is a circular plaque, if you will, including pictures and a written history of the area and its buildings. It includes this building and explains where it stood/what stands there now.

 

[Padre Mike]

Joe, you did a great job collecting all of these in one place. They show how the much of the architecture of Boston was united by a similar texture without being boring.

 

[kz1000ps]

Is the Boston & Providence railroad station site now the Park Plaza Hotel? Or the Motor Mart Garage? (Both fine buildings, by the way).

The Park Plaza hotel, although the part of the building that terminates in a wedge is the office portion, which is named the Park Plaza Executive Centre.

^Across the street from the emancipation statue, in that new plaza behind the 4 Seasons there is a circular plaque, if you will

Just to clarify, it is essentially a plaque, but it looks more like a round information kiosk. I've spent a good 5-10 minutes reading it over before, and it's very informative. Definitely check it out if you're in the area.

 

[bweiss]

Fantastic collection of pictures and fantastic collection of buildings. One emendation, though; I'm pretty sure that the granite row house at 303 Comm Ave---the one that looks like a big bowfront---is actually McKim, Mead, and White.

 

[Joe_Schmoe]

There are two granite row houses on Comm Ave that look very much alike. One is by McKim, one is by Peabody. I may have got the wrong one, but I think I got it right, I'll try to find out. Also, does anyone have a picture of Chelsea City Hall? They did that too, but I was unable to get a picture of it.

 

[Corey]

I like them all. I don't know why these kind of buildings went out of style. I assume they must have been expensive to build even for their time.

 

[statler]

I don't know why these kind of buildings went out of style.

Because ornament became a crime.

 

[Ron Newman]

I don't know why these kind of buildings went out of style.

In the case of the Boston & Providence railroad station, it fell victim to a decision to consolidate all railroad terminals into South Station.

 

[whighlander]

Grain Exchange

I thought that P&S did the Grain Exchange -- the Gothic Revival roundish building down near the Custom House -- but it turned out to be Shepley Rutan and Coolidge

Similarly I thought that New Old South in Copley was a P&S -- but its Cummings and Sears

Oh well we still have the Custom House Tower

Westy