weekly update 008 - 2016-12-05 - a taste of Boston's architecture
This week I will be focussing on some of the buildings I found interesting in Boston. Some are historic landmarks, which I had put on my list to photograph, others just caught my eye while I was passing them by. Point in case is the first photo of this post, the facade of the Omni Parker House Hotel. Of which I knew nothing at the time, but now know to be the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States, built in 1927 on the same site as the Parker House Hotel that had been operating since October 1855. It is currently under study for becoming a Boston Landmark, but at the time it was the ornate golden entrance that made me photograph it.
On the other hand, I was intent on capturing the beautiful Old City Hall building, and the historic Old State House, pictured below. You can also find a detail of the Boston Public Library facade, and the Trinity Episcopal Church.
The Old State House is a historic building built in 1713, it was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court until 1798, and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. One of the landmarks on Boston's Freedom Trail, it is the oldest surviving public building in Boston.
Boston's Old City Hall was home to its city council from 1865 to 1969. It was one of the first buildings in the French Second Empire style to be built in the United States.
Trinity Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 3,000 households, was founded in 1733. The church is home to several high-level choirs, including the Trinity Choir, Trinity Schola, Trinity Choristers, and Trinity Chamber Choir. The building is currently under study for becoming a Boston Landmark.
The Boston Public Library McKim Building (built 1895) in Copley Square contains the library's research collection, exhibition rooms and administrative offices. When it opened in 1895, the new Boston Public Library was proclaimed a "palace for the people." The building includes lavish decorations, a children's room (the first in the nation), and a central courtyard surrounded by an arcaded gallery in the manner of a Renaissance cloister.
Next week I’ll be showing some of the most interesting statues and street art that I captured in Boston and Cambridge, in what should probably be the last post dedicated to this fine city.
Until we meet again,
APN