Preservation Alliance to bestow achievement awards
The Boston Preservation Alliance has named nine iconic buildings that have been rehabilitated and restored as recipients of its 2010 achievement awards.
Two outstanding, inspirational individuals also will be honored at an awards ceremony, to be held Oct. 21 at the Modern Theatre at 523 Washington St.
Dr. Judith Selwyn, founder of Preservation Technology Associates, will be presented with the John Codman Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lisa Greenfield, an urban planner and Fort Point artist who has collaborated with others artists for a decade to create memorable installations, will receive an award for “significant public art contributing to Boston’s urban fabric.”
The alliance, a 32-year-old non-profit that works diligently to protect and preserve the city’s architectural heritage, makes these awards to celebrate the positive impact property owners and developers can have when they incorporate historic preservation into their projects.
Some of the properties have restrictions or guidelines if they are on the National Register of Historic Places or are designated a Boston landmark.
Folio Boston is the only residential development to receive an award this year. Its award is for “notable new construction in harmony with Boston’s built environment.”
Located at 80 Broad St. in the Financial District, Folio Boston integrated a three-story historic building with the 14-story towers which house below-grade parking, upscale retail space on the ground level and luxury condos on the floors above.
The original brick building is believed to have been designed by the city’s first architect, Charles Bulfinch, who also designed the present State House. CBT Architects designed the new structure with a curtain wall of glass and metal and deep purple and burnt ochre brick. The developer was the Suffolk Company.
The development team also included McNamara/Salvia Inc., SEi Companies, John Moriarty & Associates and Pressley Associates. Manager was Spaulding & Slye, which is now Jones Lang LaSalle.
Ames Hotel
The Ames Building at 1 Court St. is recognized for its significant rehabilitation and restoration. It also is in the Financial District.
Built in 1890, it was the city’s first skyscraper at the time, designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Its façade combined the Romanesque style with Byzantine elements and employed blue slate and red sandstone as ornamentation. Normandy Real Estate Partners and Ames Hotel Partners redeveloped the property as a 114-room boutique hotel, operated by the Morgans Hotel Group.
The firm of Cambridge Seven Associates was the lead architect, teamed with ADD Inc., the Rockwell Group, MacRostie Historic Advisors, Building Conservation Associates, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, WSP Flack + Kurtz and Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting.
The year-long restoration of the Old South Meeting House tower clock will be honored in the category of “restoration of an iconic Boston landmark.”
Created in 1766 the clock was installed in the tower in 1770. It is believed that it is the oldest New England tower clock in operation at its original site on Washington Street.
The north clock face was meticulously restored, but the south clock face was replicated in solid mahogany.
The original was too damaged to restore. The rich black paint was made from a smalting process used in the 18th century.
Park Street Church
The preservation team, led by McGinley Kalsow & Associates, included the Clock Shop, Architectural Preservation, Northland Restoration, Architectural Conservation Services and Building Conservation Associates.
At the corner of Tremont and Park streets, the landmark brick and wood Park Street Church with its white steeple will be recognized for “successful adaptation to accommodate accessibility.”
Designed by architect Peter Banner and built in 1809, the church had to find creative ways to make the meetinghouse accessible while keeping its historical integrity. Mills Whitaker Architects oversaw the project, which included replacing roofing and gutters and repairing the brick and brownstone.
Also working on the project were Marc Truant & Associates, Structures North Consulting Engineers, Forte Engineering, Johnson Engineering & Design, Preservation Technology Associates, Acentech Incorporated and Haley & Aldrich.
The new headquarters for Zumix in the former Engine 40 Firehouse at 260 Sumner St. in East Boston will be recognized for “significant neighborhood rehabilitation.”
Zumix
Zumix, a non-profit group founded in 1991, promotes arts and music among youth to build community.
The brick building was constructed in 1923 and served the Jeffries Point neighborhood; later it housed the Boston fireboat before the city closed it. Five years ago, Zumix bought the building and completely rehabilitated it.
The interior includes a recording studio, classrooms, practice rooms, sound studios and some firehouse reminders, like pipe banisters and the original fire pole and bright red firehouse doors.
Madeleine Steczynski, Zumix executive director, said the project is seeking LEED Silver certification. Utile Inc. was the lead architect; other team members were Aberjona Engineering, Landmark Structures Corporation, Acentech, SGH, Schirmer Engineering Corporation, Crossfield Engineering and New Ecology Inc.
The exterior renovations of four campus buildings of the New England Conservatory of Music, founded in 1867, will be honored in the “exceptional maintenance of a historic property” category.
Wessling Architects designed the project at four buildings – Jordan Hall, the 1,013-seat concert hall; 295 Huntington St.; 241 St. Botolph St. and 33 Gainsborough St. – repairing stucco, terracotta and marble that would match closely to the original.
Jordan Hall
For energy efficiency, a white roofing system was installed at Jordan Hall, and the slate roof at 295 Huntington Ave. was replaced. New wooden windows or aluminum ones with historic character were put in place.
Collaborating on the renovations were Tishman Construction, Leggat McCall Properties, Epsilon Associates, NER Construction Management Company, The Cheviot Corporation and DM Berg Consultants.
Emerson College’s achievement award is for significant rehabilitation and restoration of the 1932 Art Deco Paramount Theatre and new construction, now known as the Paramount Center.
Elkus Manfredi Architects reconfigured the cinema into a smaller live performance space and designed a new structure that also houses a black box theater, rehearsal studios, a sound stage for film production classes, a restaurant, administrative offices and student residences. The general contractor was Bond Construction Company.
“The Paramount Center is a significant landmark in our city and an anchor in our vibrant Downtown and Theater District,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. The mixed-use development was a major component in Emerson’s $500 million investment in the Midtown Theater District.
Two properties rehabilitated by public agencies will be honored for significant rehabilitation.
The General Services Administration will be praised for its work at the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse, a distinctive Art Deco building designed by Cram and Ferguson in 1933.
John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse
The architectural firm of Goody Clancy worked with Suffolk Construction and Tishman Construction to preserve the exterior granite and limestone façade of the Boston landmark and added a green roof that covers 25 percent of the building footprint. In addition the terrazzo floors with marble inlay, the decorative plaster ceiling and the bronze fretwork and grilles were restored.
The Public Works Department, along with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Landmarks Commission, McGinley Kalsow & Associates and STV Incorporated, will receive an award for rehabilitating the Congress Street Bridge, built in 1930.
It is one of the few remaining overhead counterweight moveable bridges in the country designed by Strauss Bascule Bridge Company of Chicago and is a vital link between Fort Point and Downtown.
The original lanterns were replicated, the exposed granite was repaired or rebuilt and cleaned, and weakened materials were replaced in the project.
For the creative preservation award, the power station of the West End Street Railway, owned by 540 Harrison Avenue Realty Trust, will be recognized.
When William G. Preston designed the brick building in 1892, it was the largest electric generation station, privately owned, to power electric trolley cars.
West End Street Railway power station
GTI Properties acquired the massive building, which had fallen into disrepair, and completely restored it. The Grassi Design Group was the architect. The project included repointing and cleaning the brick, restoring the six gable roofs with original slate and installing new windows that match the originals.
Working with the Grassi Design Group were MBM Contacting, O’Connor Masonry, JA Masonry, and Souza and True Partners. “This exciting project has breathed new life into the historic building which adds to the vibrancy of the emerging SoWa District,” said Sarah D. Kelly, executive director of the Boston Preservation Alliance.
Tickets for the awards ceremony are $35 in advance and may be obtained from Christine Piontek, projects coordinator, by e-mail at cpiontek@bostonpreservation.org or by phone at 617-367-1458, ext. 10.
