Hotel Touraine // 1897

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.

About Me

For those of you who follow me on Instagram or are just joining here, I wanted to share a little bit about myself..


I started on the mission to explore the New England area in 2018 with the aim to highlight the varied architecture, history and sites that make the region so special. My goal (a near impossible one) is to explore every city, town and village in the region. I grew up in the area and after beginning to work in the field, really wanted to showcase the history behind these picturesque places to light in a manageable format.

I started by Instagram in 2018 and have been shocked at the numbers of architecture nerds like myself! This blog is to pick up and continue the posts from Instagram. To see past posts, click on the Instagram link on the sidebar and scroll through!


Come along for this journey with me!