Modern Addition

The Brimmer School – Park Street School // 1914

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Now functioning as the Park Street School, the handsome brick building at 63-69 Brimmer Street stands on the site of a former three-story brick livery stable and is an excellent example of the early 20th century revival of the Flat of Beacon Hill from the “horsey end of town”, to an upper-class enclave. The school building, which was completed in 1914, was designed by R. Clipston Sturgis, one of the premier architects of Boston, as one of the first “fireproof” schools in Boston. The school building originally had an open-air rooftop playground, and was designed with special attention to light and air ventilation, with a library, gymnasium, and recitation rooms inside. In 1939, the Brimmer School merged with the May School, which had been founded about 1900, creating the Brimmer & May School. The new institution then hired architect, Walter H. Kilham of the firm, Kilham & Hopkins, to enclose the rooftop playground, allowing for more usable space for the school. After the Brimmer & May School moved to Chestnut Hill in 1954, the building was bought by C.F. Burdett, as a new location for a private business school that had been operating since 1879. Burdett College remained in possession of the building until 1970 when Emerson College took over the building for its performing arts department. In 2003, Emerson College sold the building to Park Street Kids, a children’s organization begun by mothers at Park Street Church, located on the east end of the Boston Common and it has since been known as the Park Street School. The school was recently restored by Mills Whitaker Architects.

Chamberlain Cottage // 1940

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Nestled into the forests of Wayland, Massachusetts, one of the most significant examples of early Modernist architecture, the Chamberlain Cottage, represents the European Bauhaus style adapted to the American landscape and New England vernacular. Designed in 1940 and completed in 1941, the house was commissioned by Harvard Economics professor, Henry Chamberlain and his wife, Margareth, as a weekend retreat from Cambridge. Professor Chamberlain commissioned Marcel Breuer and his mentor, Walter Gropius, then Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, to design a home with a specific request for a screened porch similar to Gropius’ residence in nearby Lincoln. For the Chamberlain Cottage, the design responds to the uneven terrain and the potential for river flooding by two distinct parts: a grounded stone base and a cantilevered wooden volume above. The lower stone level functioned as a foundation while providing storage for a canoe and housing a fireplace that extends vertically through the structure; with the upper wooden volume containing living spaces. Despite its compact size for weekend visits, the upper level is well planned and includes a living space, kitchen, a single bedroom, and the porch. Due to its small scale and siting, the one-bedroom cottage was not easily adaptable for modern living. After falling into disrepair in the 1980s and ’90s, the home was purchased by architects Sidney R. Bowen and Angela Watson, who expanded the structure over the course of a decade to its current size of 3,742 square feet. It has been occupied and lovingly maintained by later owners. It remains a private residence.

South Station // 1899

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When the railroads serving Boston were first laid out and built, each line stopped at its own terminal which created a dysfunctional and cumbersome travel experience for those entering or leaving the city. The Boston Terminal Company, established in 1897, was charged with the task of consolidating service from the four terminals at a single terminal, a union station (similar to North Station), for routes south of the city. South Station was designed by architects were Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston and quickly became New England’s busiest transportation center. The five-story Classical Revival style station built of stone is an architectural landmark with three-story Ionic colonnade crowned by a clock surmounted by an eagle, stands above the triple-arched brick masonry lower level corner entrance. While the station handled 125,000 passengers each day during World War II, post-war passenger rail traffic declined in the US. South Station was sold to the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 1965 and (surprise!) they demolished portions of the building and later developed plans to demolish the rest of the station and replace it with a multi-use development including a new train and bus station with large parking garage. Luckily for everyone, the BRA failed in this endeavor and the building remained to the point where public transportation is again invested in and beloved and the building has since been restored. Recently, a glass “crown”, known as South Station Tower, a 51-story designed by Pelli, Clarke & Partners, with new office space, luxury residences, and a redesigned, arched interior concourse (which in my opinion, is the best part). The redevelopment is a push towards transit-oriented development and blends new and old in an innovative way.

What do you think of it?

Eastham Public Library // 1897

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Built in 1897, the ever-charming Eastham Public Library has served the town for over 100 years, constantly adapting and growing to meet the needs of the community. Originally constructed as a one-room hipped-roof shingled library building, the tiny space was appropriate for the town of just 500 people in 1900. By the 1960s, the rear ell was replaced with a large addition, effectively quadrupling the square footage of the library, but keeping the original structure intact. The 1960s addition was eventually deemed insufficient and was replaced in 2016 with the gorgeous modern addition by Oudens-Ello Architecture of Boston. The addition compliments the quaint one-room original structure with the use of materials, yet clearly distinguishes itself as 21st century design.