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42-471: The primary building of the development is the 43-story office tower, which will feature a three-story lobby and high-end amenities . The first four floors of the building will contain the lobby and a restaurant, with each floor containing 23,200 square feet. Floors five through ten will contain offices and parking, and each floor will contain 8,800 square feet. The remaining floors will contain offices, and each floor will contain 27,500 square feet. The building

84-443: A fitness center , swimming pool , rooftop garden , clubroom , private kitchen and diner , yoga room , golf simulator , pet spa , concierge services and a sky lounge and terrace . On-site parking is also available. Along with the two main towers of the development, four smaller buildings and a public square will be constructed. Along with these buildings, there will be nearly 4,132,500  sq ft (383,900  m ) in

126-454: A home movie camera into the Old Howard, and caught Mary Goodneighbor on film doing her striptease for the audience. The film led to the closure of the theater, and it remained closed until it caught fire mysteriously in 1961. The square was also the home of Austin and Stone's Dime Museum . As early as the 1950s, city officials had been mulling plans to completely tear down and redevelop

168-589: A 2014 article, architectural historian Timothy M. Rohan praised the building for having "a wondrous interior courtyard like something from baroque Rome, a space that even in its incomplete and neglected state contrasts sharply with nearby City Hall and its alienating plaza." This 2,300-space privately owned garage was built as part of the Government Center urban renewal project. In 2016, the Boston Redevelopment Authority gave final approval for

210-640: A place of celebrations or festivities after performance. In other buildings, such as office buildings or condominiums, lobbies can function as gathering spaces between the entrance and elevators to other floors. Since the mid-1980s, there has been a growing trend to think of lobbies as more than just ways to get from the door to the elevator but instead as social spaces and places of commerce. Some research has even been done to develop scales to measure lobby atmosphere to improve hotel lobby design. Many office buildings , condominiums , hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create

252-586: A somewhat larger area than the Google Map. An undated Boston Redevelopment Authority map entitled "Government Center Urban Renewal Area Illustrative Site Plan" showed similar boundaries. Scollay Square station opened as part of the third phase of the Tremont Street Subway in September 1898, bringing subway service to the area with a stone headhouse in the center of the square. Court Street station opened on

294-439: A well-loved space, either. As Bill Wasik wrote in 2006, "It is as if the space were calibrated to render futile any gathering, large or small, attempted anywhere on its arid expanse. All the nearby buildings seem to be facing away, making the plaza's 11 acres (45,000 m ) of concrete and brick feel like the world's largest back alley. ... [It is] so devoid of benches, greenery, and other signposts of human hospitality that even on

336-405: Is a United States government office building. It is located across City Hall Plaza from Boston City Hall. An example of 1960s modern architecture, it consists of two 26 floor towers that sit on-axis to each other and a low rise building of four floors that connects to the two towers via an enclosed glass corridor. The two towers stand at a height of 118 meters (387 ft). City Hall Plaza is not

378-612: Is adjacent to historic Faneuil Hall and popular Quincy Market and very near the Old State House . It is two blocks away from the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway , which was created as part of the Big Dig . Major city streets in the vicinity include Tremont , Congress , Cambridge, State , New Chardon , and Washington Streets. Hints of another street, Cornhill , still exist along one edge of City Hall Plaza. Two of

420-420: Is now the location of Boston City Hall , courthouses, state and federal office buildings, and a major MBTA subway station, also called Government Center . Its development was controversial, as the project displaced thousands of residents and razed several hundred homes and businesses. Controversial in design since before it was completed, the use of Brutalist architecture for its main buildings, as well as

462-525: Is planned to be constructed as part of the development project; it is planned to be situated across the street from the Boston Public Market and will contain four floors. The building is intended to house a flagship store, and will include an entrance to the Haymarket Square subway station . A 157 ft (48 m) tall hotel building is being constructed at the northern edge of the site, and

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504-460: Is planned to contain at least 200 hotel rooms. Although the main use for the building is a hotel, at least 57 condominiums and 17,400 sq ft (1,600 m) of retail space will be located inside the 14-story building. The hotel is planned to contain a ballroom , several meeting rooms , a rooftop bar, and a rooftop terrace . In order to make room for the new development, the existing Government Center garage will be demolished. The garage

546-552: Is planned to earn a gold level of certification through the US Green Building Council 's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program. In the summer of 2018, developers of One Congress & Bulfinch Crossing announced on Bulfinch Crossing's Twitter that construction on One Congress will begin in summer of 2019 and also announced that it will be opening in 2022. In January 2019, State Street Corporation

588-512: Is unfinished as the tall central tower in the original plan was never built. In the mid-1990s, the adjacent space was filled with the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, which houses a division of the Boston Municipal Court . This irregularly shaped, sloping lot was the last parcel to be developed of the Government Center urban renewal plan; in the interim the space was used as surface parking . In

630-656: The East Boston Tunnel in December 1904; it was closed in 1914 and replaced by a lower level (Scollay Under) to the Scollay Square station in 1916. The station was rebuilt in 1963 as Government Center station with a low brick headhouse, and again from 2014 to 2016 with a large glass headhouse that dominates the south side of the plaza. It serves as the transfer point between the MBTA 's Blue and Green Lines. Government Center

672-786: The Massachusetts State House , the McCormack Building , the Saltonstall Building , the Suffolk County Courthouse , and the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building . The Sears' Crescent and Sears' Block are a pair of 19th century buildings that border City Hall Plaza on the south. The golden steaming kettle mounted on the corner of the Sears' Block, 63-65 Court Street, pre-dates the Government Center redevelopment. It

714-588: The Underground Railroad . Among the most famous (and infamous) of Scollay Square landmarks was the Old Howard Theatre , a grand theater which began life as the headquarters of a Millerite Adventist Christian sect which believed the world would end in October 1844. After the world failed to end on schedule, the building was sold in 1844 and reopened as a vaudeville and Shakespearean venue. Later, in

756-511: The 1900s and 1910s, it would showcase the popular minstrel shows . By around the 1940s the Scollay Square area began to lose its vibrant commercial activity, and the Howard gradually changed its image and began to cater to sailors on leave and college students by including burlesque shows, as did other nearby venues such as the Casino Theater and Crawford House . "Always Something Doing" became

798-480: The 1960s as part of Boston's first large urban renewal scheme. While considered by some to have architectural merit, the building is not universally admired, and is sharply unpopular among locals. Furthermore, it is resented for having replaced the Victorian architecture of Boston's Scollay Square, a lively commercial district that lapsed into squalor in the twentieth century. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Federal Building

840-517: The Government Center area as part of the Downtown neighborhood, and the rest as part of the West End . Other maps and documents show a variety of different boundaries for Government Center. The Boston Zoning Code has a map called "1H Government Center/Markets District." The map shows the Government Center portion of the district extending as far west as the Massachusetts State House and including all of

882-403: The Old Howard's advertising slogan. The venue also showcased boxing matches with such old-time greats as local Rocky Marciano and John L. Sullivan , and continued to feature slapstick vaudeville acts, from likes of The Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello . But it was the success and prominence of the burlesque shows that brought the Old Howard down. In 1953, vice squad agents sneaked

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924-439: The Scollay Square area, in order to remove lower-income residents and troubled businesses from the aging and seedy district. Attempts to reopen the sullied Old Howard by its old performers had been one of the last efforts against redevelopment; but with the theater gutted by fire, a city wrecking ball began the project of demolishing over 1000 buildings in the area; 20,000 residents were displaced. With $ 40 million in federal funds,

966-535: The central city of an important metropolitan area and as the regional center for New England. ... One of the basic functions of such a regional center is the provision of governmental services at all levels. ... At the present time the accommodations in Boston for all levels of government are inadequate and inefficient. The dominant feature of Government Center is the enormous, imposing, and brutalist Boston City Hall , designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood and built in

1008-489: The city built an entirely new development on top of old Scollay Square, renaming the area Government Center, and peppering it with city, state, and federal government buildings. A 1958 report by the Boston Planning Board, entitled Government Center Project, set out the case for construction of a center: The future of Boston depends in large degree on how effectively and efficiently it continues to perform its role as

1050-410: The city's first daguerreotypist (photographer), Josiah Johnson Hawes (1808–1901), and Dr. William Thomas Green Morton , the first dentist to use ether as an anaesthetic . Local cultural landmarks took form, attracting visits from such intellectual contemporaries as Charles Dickens . Scollay Square was also a flashpoint for the early abolition movement. Author William Lloyd Garrison

1092-506: The developer), which is planned to be at least 480 ft (150 m) tall. The tower was originally planned to consist of 486 apartments , but will now instead contain only 368 apartments and 55 condos . This change was announced in July 2017 when the developer decided to convert 118 apartments into 55 condos due to a slowing demand for luxury housing in Boston . The residential tower will contain

1134-412: The entire development. A smaller residential tower (officially named Residential Tower II ), is being constructed alongside the rest of the development. It is planned to rise at least 299 feet (91 metres) and contain 28 stories. The tower is planned to be primarily residential, with 291 units. At least 8,400 sq ft (800 m) of the building will be designated for retail use . In addition to

1176-588: The loveliest fall weekend, when the Common and Esplanade and other public spaces teem with Bostonians at leisure, the plaza stands utterly empty save for the occasional skateboarder…" The plaza is often colloquially referred to as "the brick desert." Another very large Brutalist building at Government Center, less prominently located and thus less well known than City Hall, is the Government Service Center , designed by architect Paul Rudolph . The building

1218-405: The main office tower, a smaller office building (officially named Boutique Office ) is under construction; it is planned to contain at least 163,800 sq ft (15,200 m) of both office and retail space. The building will rise 152 feet (46 meters) and will contain 11 stories. It is planned to have a private terrace for office workers. A retail building (officially named Iconic Retail )

1260-459: The major structures listed in this article. The Boston Redevelopment Authority map of "Urban Renewal Areas" includes a somewhat smaller area that excludes the McCormack and Saltonstall Buildings. By contrast, a search for "Government Center" on Google Maps yields a map showing an even smaller area that is bounded by Court, Cambridge, Sudbury, and Congress Streets. The AirBnB neighborhood map shows

1302-494: The neighborhood's few remaining old buildings, the Sears' Crescent and Sears' Block , face the plaza and follow the original curve of Cornhill. A veteran's home & services provider, still has an entrance with a Cornhill address. Plans for Government Center, including the Boston Redevelopment Authority's "Government center 2000 project", called for the construction of two footbridges over Congress Street to connect City Hall Plaza to

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1344-454: The new office tower. Lobby (room) A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer , reception area or entrance hall , it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre , opera house , concert hall , showroom , cinema , etc.) adjacent to the auditorium . It may be a repose area for spectators, especially used before performance and during intermissions , but also as

1386-477: The open brick-and-concrete plaza at the center of the development, have been alternately praised for its innovative design, and scorned for its lack of character and uninviting appearance. After decades of calls for a redesign to make it more friendly and usable, a major rebuild of City Hall Plaza, the main public space of Government Center, was begun in 2020 and is to include additional seating areas, play spaces for children, and space for public art. Scollay Square

1428-518: The property was sold by the Blackstone Group to Shorenstein Properties . Shorenstein Properties has proposed a $ 25 million renovation designed "to add some new buzz" to the building. The renovation was approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 2016. Several state and federal government buildings near Government Center were not built as part of the urban renewal project. These include

1470-541: The replacement of the garage with "Bulfinch Crossing," a 2.9-million-square-foot (270,000 m ) mixed-use development designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects . Construction began in January 2017. The design of the office tower was revealed in June 2019. This 720,000 square foot (67,000 m ) office and retail structure, built by developer Norman B. Leventhal , is across Cambridge Street from City Hall Plaza. In 2014,

1512-424: The right impression and convey an image. The word "lobby" comes from Medieval Latin lobia , laubia or lobium . This article related to a type of room in a building is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Government Center, Boston#Government Center Garage Government Center is an area in downtown Boston , centered on City Hall Plaza . Formerly the site of Scollay Square , it

1554-435: Was announced to be the anchor tenant in the new building, and in September 2023 they began operations from the location as their new global headquarters. The building will contain a fitness center , basketball court , rooftop garden , and several conference rooms . On-site parking is also available. The second largest building in the development is the larger residential tower (sometimes called Residential Tower I by

1596-425: Was constructed in the 1960s as part of the Government Center urban renewal project; it contains 2,300 parking spaces . Due to the fact that the garage is entirely made out of concrete , it is considered to be an eyesore by many, along with the nearby City Hall building . At least 1,160 parking spaces in the garage are to be preserved to accommodate the new development, the spaces are planned to be placed inside of

1638-501: Was demolished, but the owner, Nathan Sharaf, opened Steaming Kettle Coffee Shop in the new building and mounted the kettle. It became Croissant Du Jour in 1988, then Coffee Connection, then Starbucks in 1997. Government Center is located between the North End , Downtown , and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. Government Center does not have official boundaries. A 2011 Boston Redevelopment Authority map of Boston neighborhoods shows most of

1680-478: Was manufactured for the Oriental Tea Company in 1873, which held a contest to guess the volume of the kettle and staged a spectacle in which nine children and a tall man crawled out of the kettle. Its volume was measured by the city's official sealer of weights and measures at 227 gallons, 2 quarts, 1 pint, and 3 gills, ( 861.1 L) which for a time was painted on the side. The tea shop at 85-87 Court Street

1722-409: Was named for William Scollay , a prominent local developer and militia officer who bought a landmark four-story merchant building at the intersection of Cambridge and Court Streets in 1795. Local citizens began to refer to the intersection as Scollay's Square, and, in 1838, the city officially memorialized the intersection as Scollay Square. Early on, the area was a busy center of commerce, including

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1764-500: Was twice attacked by an angry mob for printing his anti- slavery newspaper The Liberator , which began publication in 1831. Sarah Parker Remond 's first act of civil disobedience occurred in 1853 at the Old Howard when she was refused the seat she had purchased but was instead seated in the 'black' section . Many of the buildings in the area in and around Scollay Square had hidden spaces where escaped slaves were hidden, as part of

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