The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hill

Re: The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hil

I suggest that that is merely my opinion
 
Re: The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hil

Scott said:
I suggest that that is merely my opinion
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Fair enough, I don't know if I dislike it as much as you do, but I absolutely agree with your argument that this corner merits more than above average infill. There's enough of that nearby (here and here specifically).

You're right that it checks all of the boxes. It's contextual, it doesn't appear to be cheaply made or cookie cutter, and it's decidedly urban. But my initial reaction was less positive than it should be. Even after digesting it for a while (Charles/MGH is my stop, so I see it every day), I can't really say anything bad about it; but I don't care for it either. It'll be fine (even good), but I would have like to have seen a bit more in this spot.
 
Re: The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hil

JumboBuc said:
Huh? This and this are typical Mission Hill infill. Those look nothing like this hotel. There best recent project in Mission Hill is probably this one, and it's solid but still nowhere near the quality of this hotel expansion.

In other neighborhoods, this recent building on Marlborough St comes close to this hotel for quality, and the Bolling Building, which is absolutely fantastic, probably surpasses it.

But this project is on Charles Street, for F's sake. You aren't going to get avant-garde architecture on Charles Street. Well-executed contemporary but contextual brick is what is appropriate here, and this project crushes that.
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I don't dislike this building, but the brick appears to be precast, even if it has some variation. Maybe it's better in person? The other buildings you link are either hand-laid or convincing imitations. Or maybe I'm an idiot and just don't like this style of brick as much.
 
Re: The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hil

I'd give my eye teeth to see anything approaching this quality built in my neighborhood. There are a couple of real estate attorneys in East Boston who should have BeeLine's photos of this project stapled to their foreheads.
 
Re: The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hil

Nicely detailed building. However, I find the curved windows on the corner jarring for some reason.
 
Re: The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hil

RandomWalk said:
Nicely detailed building. However, I find the curved windows on the corner jarring for some reason.
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Well, jars are curved glass.
 
Re: The Whitney Hotel (née John Jeffries House) | 142-170 Charles Street | Beacon Hil

I love seeing real gems of brickwork being added to what we already have. When lots of brick buildings are being replaced these days, things like this are especially welcomed. This and ESPECIALLY the municipal building in Dudley square truly add to the already amazing stock we have. The municipal building is next, next level.

When I think of Boston I think of bricks, and examples like these really add to the already incredible examples of fine brick buildings in the city, and also blend in perfectly. In a world where glass is used on everything, limestone art deco is near extinct, and theres too much precast being thrown around, seeing brand new buildings with incredible brick facades that hold their own with greats of the past gives me hope. I hope to see many more examples to point to as well in the future.

-I really hope in the future they lay down a much better street grid in the west end (a few well placed streets would do wonders) and throw up 15 buildings similar to this between the condo towers with a grid that ties the neighborhood back into the city... one can dream right?
 
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