Downtown/Theater District

Jacob Wirth Building // 1844

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Comprising twin bowfront Greek Revival rowhouses, the Jacob Wirth Restaurant buildings on Stuart Street are scarce survivors of a century of urban change in an area in which the building type once abounded. Built by developer housewrights quite active in the area, the twin houses were soon sold to “gentlemen” for rental purposes. Jacob Wirth, a German emigrated to Boston from Bingen, Germany, and began work as a baker before getting into the restaurant business. Wirth bought the left building seen here in 1878 as his dwelling above and ran his authentic German restaurant below. Due to the success of the restaurant, he purchased the adjacent home in 1889 and constructed the storefront that now unites them. Jacob Wirth ran the restaurant until his death in 1892, which was then managed by his son, Jacob Wirth Jr., who also managed it until his death in 1965! In 2018, Jacob Wirth’s, the second oldest continuously operated restaurant in Boston, closed its doors following a fire. The future is somewhat uncertain for the space, but as it is landmarked, there are protections (even at the interior) of the building.

Did you get a chance to eat at Jacob Wirth’s before it closed?

Old State House // 1713

Buildings of New England3 Comments

Nestled among the towering skyscrapers of Downtown Boston, the Old State House stands proudly, giving us a glimpse into pre-Revolutionary life and events. Happy Fourth of July!

Built in 1713, the “Town House” as it was originally known, served as a merchants’ exchange on the first floor and the seat of colonial and later state government on the second floor throughout the 1700s. The royal governor, appointed by the King of Great Britain, held his office in the building until 1775, and from the balcony gave voice via decrees and speeches to the King 3000 miles removed from London. Above the balcony, a lion and unicorn—royal symbols of the King of Great Britain—graced the main façade facing the public square.

“A cobblestone circle beneath the Old State House balcony marks the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre. Tensions ran high in Boston in early 1770. More than 2,000 British soldiers occupied the city of 16,000 colonists and tried to enforce Britain’s tax laws, like the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. American colonists rebelled against the taxes they found repressive, rallying around the cry, “no taxation without representation.” On the frigid, snowy evening of March 5, 1770, Private Hugh White was the only soldier guarding the King’s money stored inside the Custom House on King Street. It wasn’t long before angry colonists joined him and insulted him and threatened violence. Calling reinforcements, a group of British soldiers stood near the Town House and were pelted with snowballs and rocks, with one soldier firing out of panic. Once the first shot rang out, other soldiers opened fire, killing five colonists–including Crispus Attucks, a local dockworker of mixed racial heritage–and wounding six. The event was one of the flashpoints which began the American Revolution.

Six years later, on July 18, 1776, Colonel Thomas Crafts read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House as a statement of strength from where the King’s declarations were given just years prior.

Russia Building // 1897

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

After the Great Fire of 1872 burned a large portion of Downtown Boston and destroyed the Russia Wharf structures on Atlantic Ave, the city decided to extend Congress St. over the wharf and across a new bridge connecting Downtown to areas being filled in South Boston (now Seaport). The wharf was the center of Boston’s trade with Russia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The original wharf buildings were destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872, and the land area was extended by building over the wharf and filling the spaces surrounding it. Three new Russia Wharf buildings were built on the original site of Russia Wharf, near where the Boston Tea Party took place in 1773. Permits were issued in 1897 for the Russia Building and its two neighbors facing Congress St. Opening in 1898, the principle occupant of the Russia Building (seen here) was the Library Bureau, manufacturers of the “Perfected Card System,” library and office Supplies, with branches in other major cities. The buildings were designed by the renowned firm of Peabody and Stearns, who were VERY busy at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries around Boston.

Shubert Theater // 1908

Buildings of New England1 Comment

One of the many iconic theaters on Theater Row in Downtown Boston, the Shubert Theater packs a punch for one of its size. Designed in 1908 and originally named the Lyric Theatre, the theatre was built for live performances. The theatre was named in 1910 after Sam S. Shubert, known as the founder of the independent theatre movement. Shubert was the oldest of three brothers and the first to become involved in theatre management in the 1880’s. At the age of just 26, Sam Shubert died due to a train wreck in 1905, and his brothers Lee and Jacob went on to continue their brother’s empire, which included theatres in Boston, New York and Chicago, which operates after their deaths as the Shubert Organization. In February 1996, the Wang Center signed a 40-year lease agreement to operate the theatre with the Shubert Organization, which continues to own the building and property; the theatre reopened after renovation in November 1996. The Boch family became the namesake of the center in 2016, making the full name of the theatre the Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center.

Wesleyan Building // 1870

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Located between the heavily-trafficked streets of Tremont and Washington Streets in Downtown Boston, you’ll find the Wesleyan Building, centered on Bromfield Street. Constructed in 1870, the Second Empire commercial building was designed by the architectural firm (and brothers) of Billings & Billings, who designed College Hall at Wellesley College just four years later. The five-story granite-clad structure features neo-Grecian detailing and a mansard roof, showcasing the waning popularity of the Second Empire style by the 1870s. The building was constructed adjacent to the Bromfield Street Methodist Church (demolished around 1913) and housed the offices of the Wesleyan Association, which published the newspaper ‘Zion’s Herald‘, a Methodist publication. The building was also occupied by the Emerson College of Oratory by 1890, which later became Emerson College.

Hotel Touraine // 1897

Buildings of New England4 Comments

The Hotel Touraine at the corner of Boylston and Tremont Streets in Boston was built in 1897 as one of the most luxurious hotels in the city. Designed by the local firm of Winslow and Wetherell, the Jacobean Revival style building commands the well-trafficked corner opposite the Boston Common. Early articles described the hotel as “a large and sumptuously equipped house, with internal decorations in the style of the Chateau de Blois (a French chateau). Winslow and Wetherell appeared to have been inspired by the Louis XII wing of the Chateau, as many design elements of the hotel closely resemble it. The hotel was advertised as having 350 rooms valued at $2 a night up to $3 a night for a room with a private bath. Separate men and women’s parlors, a library, and elevator service made the hotel desirable for the upper-class Bostonians and visitors to the bustling Downtown area. The hotel’s rich clientele eventually began frequenting the larger hotels near Copley Square and the stature of the Touraine slipped with a changing Downtown character. By the 1960s, the hotel closed and was converted to apartments.