City Hall Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts, is a large, open, public space in the Government Center area of the city. The architectural firm Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles designed the plaza in 1962 to accompany Boston's new City Hall building. The multi-level, irregularly shaped plaza consists of red brick and concrete. The Government Center MBTA station is located beneath the plaza; its entrance is at the southwest corner of the plaza.
The siting of the plaza, the City Hall, and other structures in Government Center was the responsibility of I. M. Pei, [1] [2] commissioned by Edward J. Logue, then development administrator of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The plaza and City Hall were constructed between 1963 and 1968, on the former site of Scollay Square, which despite its vibrancy and historical interest, was considered a seedy area by some. [3] Other streets removed to make way for the plaza included Brattle Street and Cornhill. Two historic buildings formerly on Cornhill, known as the Sears' Crescent and Sears' Block, were not demolished and now face the southern edge of the plaza.
The 1962 design was reportedly [4] modeled after Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy.
Reaction to the plaza has been mixed. Some praise City Hall Plaza for being cleaner and more appealing than Scollay Square, and for the simple fact that it was built at all—with the cooperation and compromises necessary of any complex, multi-agency government construction project. Architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable called the plaza "one of the best urban spaces of the 20th century. ... With the plaza, and specifically because of it, the Boston Government Center can now take its place among the world's great city spaces." [5] The Cultural Landscape Foundation listed the plaza as one of its "Marvels of Modernism." [6]
Others dislike City Hall Plaza [7] for its anti-social aesthetic and failure to address unpleasant weather effects (such as wintertime cold, wet, and wind, and summertime heat, dust, sun, and wind). [8] [9] The Project for Public Spaces ranked it at the top of the organization's list of "Squares Most Dramatically in Need of Improvement in the United States" in 2005, [10] and has placed the plaza on its "Hall of Shame." [11]
A fountain was built at the northwest corner of the plaza as part of the original design. [12] But it was shut down in 1977 because water was leaking into the Blue Line subway tunnel below. [13] The fountain was covered over with a concrete slab in 2006. [14] A nonprofit group built a "Cancer Garden of Hope" [15] at the northeast corner of the plaza in 2010.
Since the plaza opened in 1968, ideas for improvements to the public space have been put forth by citizens, students, architects, politicians, and others. In the early 2000s, cellist Yo-Yo Ma proposed the construction of a music garden based on his Inspired by Bach series of recordings. The plan did not move forward in Boston, but was realized as the Toronto Music Garden. [16] [17]
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino had several ideas for improvement. In 2007, Emerson College students used the virtual world Second Life to re-imagine a better design. [18] The project was sponsored by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, among others. [19] A 2011 study [20] commissioned by the United States Environmental Protection Agency made recommendations for the "greening" of the plaza. A 2014 study by three landscape architecture students at West Virginia University proposed a complete redesign of the plaza. [21]
In 2015, the city launched a crowdsourcing project entitled "Re-invent City Hall Plaza," asking the public for suggestions to improve the plaza. [22] Later in the year, the city made a number of changes to the plaza, including installing artificial grass, picnic tables, and lawn chairs, to make the space more inviting. [23] However, the Project for Public Spaces argued that "these efforts to put what the New York Times has called a 'kelly green band-aid' on this gaping wound in the heart of the city, are insufficient," and that a more comprehensive redesign is needed. [24] A 2016 plan for a ferris wheel and other improvements to the plaza [25] did not move forward. [26]
Work had begun in 2011 on plans to redesign the plaza and the Government Center MBTA station. [27] [28] The new MBTA station opened in March 2016 [29] after two years of construction. Extensive landscaping and accessibility improvements to the adjacent areas of the plaza [30] were completed in 2017.
A year-long study entitled "Rethink City Hall" was completed in 2017 by the firms Utile and Reed Hilderbrand. [31] The final report called for major changes in City Hall and the plaza. [32]
"The Patios," a seasonal beer garden, opened in 2018 on a terrace overlooking Congress Street, [33] and was expanded for 2019. [34] [35]
In June 2019, the city announced [36] [37] [38] the start of construction of a $70 million project to transform the plaza into a "People's Plaza" that will include "a civic space for all residents, with universal accessibility, new civic spaces for all to use, increased environmental sustainability, and critical infrastructure improvements that will ensure the Plaza is safe and accessible for all for generations to come." [39] The plans, developed by Sasaki Associates, [40] include schematic designs [41] for the project. In January 2020, the Boston Landmarks Commission approved the first phase of the project. [42] Construction began in 2020. [43] [44] Construction reached the half-way point in August 2021. The work includes adding "3,000 seating spaces, 12,000-square-feet of playscapes for children, and 11,000-square-feet of terraces for interactive public art. [45] The renovated plaza opened in November 2022. [46]
Nearby Boston Common has long been used for public events, including a 1969 peace rally that drew an estimated crowd of 100,000 [47] and the 1979 mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. [48] But damage to the park from such large events led city officials to limit future events on the Common, relocating many to the paved City Hall Plaza. [49]
Annual events held on City Hall Plaza include Boston Calling Music Festival (2013–2016), Big Apple Circus, The Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl, the Boston Pride Festival, [50] the African Festival of Boston, [51] Boston GreenFest, [52] Boston Techjam, [53] the Puerto Rican Festival of Massachusetts, [54] the finish line of Hub on Wheels, [55] and the Boston Cycling Celebration. [56]
Occasional events on the plaza have included Boston's 350th birthday celebration, [57] art exhibits such as Strandbeest; [58] large rallies in honor of the New England Patriots, [59] the Boston Red Sox, [60] and the Boston Bruins; political demonstrations; [61] [62] an exhibit of "street pianos"; [63] beer festivals; [64] [65] [66] HUBweek, [67] a pizza festival, [68] the Boston Night Market, [69] a "Roller Disco Tribute Party", [70] and the display of a 25-foot-tall statue of King Tut. [71]
The Plaza has also been the site for many free concerts including being the original site (before moving to the Hatch Memorial Shell) for WODS (Oldies 103.3) summer concert series such as Chubby Checker and Paul Revere & the Raiders.
From December 2016 until February 2017, the Plaza opened an outdoor Skating Path and Holiday Market, as part of an installation called "Boston Winter". [72] [73] The skating path provided skating lessons for different age groups and planned themed skating events. Boston Winter continued the following year, [74] but did not return in December 2018 as the city prepared for a major renovation of the plaza. [75]
The newly renovated playground on the plaza went viral online in 2023 as part of the "cop slide" internet meme after a police officer was recorded tumbling down the slide at speed and sustaining a minor head injury. Its virality caused an increase in adult visitors to the playground and age restrictions were enforced at the slide. [76] [77] [78]
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of downtown Boston, Massachusetts and 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS). It opened in 2002, replacing the adjacent Foxboro Stadium. It also served as the home venue for the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutemen football team in 2012 and 2013, while on-campus Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium underwent renovations; it continued to serve as a part-time home venue for higher attendance UMass games through 2018. Gillette Stadium's seating capacity is 64,628, including 5,876 club seats and 82 luxury suites.
The Prudential Center is an enclosed shopping mall within the mixed-use Prudential Center complex in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at the base of the Prudential Tower, and provides direct indoor connections to several nearby destinations, including the Hynes Convention Center, the office towers at 101 and 111 Huntington Avenue, and the Sheraton Boston hotel. The mall is connected to the Copley Place shopping mall via a skybridge over Huntington Avenue. As of 2022, the complex features notable brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Earl's, Lacoste, Club Monaco, Ralph Lauren, and Vineyard Vines.
Copley Square is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. The square is named for painter John Singleton Copley. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to its many cultural institutions, some of which remain today.
Davis Square is a major intersection in the northwestern section of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, where several streets meet: Holland Street, Dover Street, Day Street, Elm Street, Highland Avenue, and College Avenue. The name is often used to refer to the West Somerville neighborhood surrounding the square as well.
Government Center is an area in downtown Boston, centered on City Hall Plaza. Formerly the site of Scollay Square, it is now the location of Boston City Hall, courthouses, state and federal office buildings, and a major MBTA subway station, also called Government Center. Its development was controversial, as the project displaced thousands of residents and razed several hundred homes and businesses.
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan International Airport. Located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, the historic station building was constructed in 1899 to replace the downtown terminals of several railroads. Today, it serves as a major intermodal domestic transportation hub, with service to the Greater Boston region and the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. It is used by thousands of commuter rail and intercity rail passengers daily. Connections to the rapid transit Red Line and bus rapid transit Silver Line are made through the adjacent subway station.
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Morrissey Boulevard is a six-lane divided coastal road in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned and maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
South Station is a transfer station on the MBTA rapid transit Red Line and bus rapid transit Silver Line, located at Summer Street and Atlantic Avenue in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is a part of the South Station complex, the second busiest transportation center in New England. Eight MBTA Commuter Rail and three Amtrak intercity rail services terminate at South Station; many of those passengers then transfer to the rapid transit lines to reach other destinations in the city. With 24,639 daily boardings in 2019, South Station is the busiest station on the MBTA rapid transit system.
Back Bay station is an intermodal passenger station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located just south of Copley Square in Boston's Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. It serves MBTA Commuter Rail and MBTA subway routes, and also serves as a secondary Amtrak intercity rail station for Boston. The present building, designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood, opened in 1987. It replaced the New Haven Railroad's older Back Bay station – which opened in 1928 as a replacement for an 1899-built station – as well as the New York Central's Huntington Avenue and Trinity Place stations which had been demolished in 1964.
Thomas Menino served as mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1993 through 2014. He is the longest serving mayor in the city's history. Menino first became acting mayor in July 1993, after Raymond Flynn resigned as mayor to assume the post of United States ambassador to the Holy See. Menino was elected mayor in the subsequent 1993 Boston mayoral election, and was reelected to additional terms in the four subsequent elections, making for an unprecedented and unsurpassed twenty year tenure. On March 28, 2013, Menino announced that he would not seek a sixth term.
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