Boston Landmarks Commission

Last updated

The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) is the historic preservation agency for the City of Boston. The commission was created by state legislation in 1975.

Contents

History

Urban renewal in the United States started with the Housing Act of 1949, part of President Harry Truman's Fair Deal. In Boston, almost a third of the old city was demolished, including the historic West End, to make way for a new highway, low- and moderate-income high-rises, and new government and commercial buildings. [1] The Boston Landmarks Commission was created by legislation in 1975 as a response to the mass demolitions, particularly the demolition of the Jordan Marsh Building on Washington Street. Built in the 1860s, the ornate building featured a well-known corner clock tower designed by Nathaniel J. Bradlee. Along with an entire row of annex buildings, the building was torn down in 1975 and replaced by a new building. Public outrage and grass roots protests influenced preservation legislation and sparked preservation action. There are now over 8000 landmarked properties in Boston.

Responsibilities

The chief responsibilities of the Landmark Commission include identifying historic resources through preservation surveys, protecting and recognizing historic properties through designation, and preserving designated Landmarks through the design review process.

The BLC also administers Article 85 Demolition Delay for the entire city of Boston. Whenever a building proposed to be demolished is determined by BLC staff to be significant, the public is invited to testify at a public hearing. If the BLC invokes a 90-day Demolition Delay as a result, there is an opportunity for the community to participate in discussions with the developer and explore alternatives to demolition.

The Commission meets twice a month on second and fourth Tuesdays - Design Review starts a few hours prior to the business portion at every fourth Tuesday hearing. Applicants propose changes to a Landmark by presenting at the hearing, and the public is invited to comment.

Commissioners

Commissioners are nominated by professional and neighborhood organizations, and appointed by the Mayor. Most are also confirmed by City Council. All commissioner positions are voluntary. There are 85 commissioner slots among the Boston Landmarks Commission and the 9 local historic commissions, although BLC commissioners also hold slots on local commissions.

Historic Districts

There are currently 7 historic designated districts and 2 architectural districts. Each district has its own commission staffed by a preservation planner within the Boston Landmarks Commission. The commissioners assure that the architectural and historical integrity of the district is not compromised. The districts include:

Fort Point was most recently designated in 2008 after the Boston Wharf Co.-owned 55-acre industrial area was sold to several buyers.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission</span> Agency charged with administering New York Citys Landmarks Preservation Law

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them after designation. It is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation. As of July 1, 2020, the LPC has designated more than 37,000 landmark properties in all five boroughs. Most of these are concentrated in historic districts, although there are over a thousand individual landmarks, as well as numerous interior and scenic landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Hill, Boston</span> Historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts

Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, and the hill upon which the Massachusetts State House resides. The term "Beacon Hill" is used locally as a metonym to refer to the state government or the legislature itself, much like Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill does at the federal level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic preservation</span> Preservation of items of historical significance

Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries’ development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts</span> Village in Massachusetts, United States

Chestnut Hill is an affluent New England village located six miles (9.7 km) west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity. It is located partially in Brookline in Norfolk County; partially in the city of Boston in Suffolk County, and partially in the city of Newton in Middlesex County. Chestnut Hill's borders are defined by the 02467 ZIP Code. The name refers to several small hills that overlook the 135-acre Chestnut Hill Reservoir rather than one particular hill. Chestnut Hill is best known as the home of Boston College and as part of the Boston Marathon route.

Henry Forbes Bigelow was an American architect, best known for his work with the firm of Bigelow & Wadsworth in Boston, Massachusetts. He was noted as an architect of civic, commercial and domestic buildings. In an obituary, his contemporary William T. Aldrich wrote that "Mr. Bigelow probably contributed more to the creation of charming and distinguished house interiors than any one person of his time." Numerous buildings designed by Bigelow and his associates have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Trustees of Reservations</span> Preservation and conservation nonprofit organization in MA, US (established 1891)

The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit organization of its kind in the world and has 140,000 dues-paying members as of 2018. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees of Reservations own title to 120 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public; it maintains conservation restrictions on over 200 additional properties. Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.

<i>Ontario Heritage Act</i> Canadian act

The Ontario Heritage Act, first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage value or interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Historical Commission</span> Agency of the State of Texas, United States

The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Village, Boston</span> Neighborhood of Boston in Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Bay Village is the smallest officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. As of 2010, its population was approximately 1,312 residents living in 837 housing units, most of which are small brick rowhouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Point, Boston</span>

Fort Point is a neighborhood or district of Boston, Massachusetts, and where a fort stood which guarded the city in colonial times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson House Museum</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Gibson House Museum is an historic house museum located at 137 Beacon Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It preserves the 1860 Victorian rowhouse occupied by three generations of the Gibson family. The house was one of the first to be built in Back Bay, and has an unparalleled state of preservation that includes wallpaper, textiles, furnishings, and family artifacts and collections. Both the public and service areas of the house exhibit a high degree of preservation, and are viewable on tours. The property was designated a Boston Landmark in 1992 by the Boston Landmarks Commission and a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antiquities Advisory Board</span>

The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monuments. The AAB was established in 1976 along with the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) when the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance was enacted, and comprises members appointed by the Chief Executive. The corresponding governmental ministry is the Development Bureau, and executive support for the AAB is provided by the AMO which is under the Development Bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic district</span> Section of a city

A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from certain types of development.

In the United Kingdom, the term conservation area almost always applies to an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which is considered worthy of preservation or enhancement. It creates a precautionary approach to the loss or alteration of buildings and/or trees, thus it has some of the legislative and policy characteristics of listed buildings and tree preservation orders. The concept was introduced in 1967, and by 2017 almost 9,800 had been designated in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William G. Preston</span> American architect

William Gibbons Preston was an American architect who practiced during the last third of the nineteenth century and in the first decade of the twentieth. Educated at Harvard University and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris., he was active in Boston, New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, New Brunswick and Savannah, Georgia, where he was brought by George Johnson Baldwin to design the Chatham County courthouse. Preston stayed in Savannah for several years during which time designed the original Desoto Hotel, the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory and 20 other distinguished public buildings and private homes. He began his professional career working for his father, the builder and architect Jonathan Preston (1801–1888), upon his return to the United States from the École in 1861, and was the sole practitioner in the office from the time his father retired c. 1875 until he took John Kahlmeyer as a partner in about 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Hill, Boston</span> United States historic place

Fort Hill is a 0.4 square mile neighborhood and historic district of Roxbury, in Boston, Massachusetts. The approximate boundaries of Fort Hill are Malcolm X Boulevard on the north, Washington Street on the southeast, and Columbus Avenue on the southwest.

A Boston Landmark is a designation by the Boston Landmarks Commission for historic buildings and sites throughout the city of Boston based on the grounds that it has historical, social, cultural, architectural or aesthetic significance to New England or the United States. While National Landmark or National Register status can provide tax incentives for the owner of an income-producing property, local landmark status provides more control over modifications to a designated historic structure or place.

References

  1. ↑ "Urban Renewal | The West End Museum". thewestendmuseum.org. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  2. ↑ Historic Beacon Hill District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/historic-beacon-hill-district
  3. ↑ Back Bay Architectural District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/back-bay-architectural-district
  4. ↑ Bay State Road/ Back Bay West Architectural Conservation District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/bay-state-roadback-bay-west-area-architectural-conservation-district
  5. ↑ St. Botolph Architectural Conservation District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/saint-botolph
  6. ↑ Bay Village Historic District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/saint-botolph
  7. ↑ South End Landmark District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/south-end-landmark-district
  8. ↑ Mission Hill Triangle Architectural Conservation District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/mission-hill-triangle
  9. ↑ Aberdeen Architectural Conservation District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/aberdeen-architectural-conservation-district
  10. ↑ Fort Point Channel Landmark District https://www.boston.gov/historic-district/fort-point-channel
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.