CultureNOW - Milk Street at Batterymarch Street: Peter Vanderwarker

Milk Street at Batterymarch Street

There are no podcasts available.

Description

ABOUT THE HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS
"Much life is added to a city by the ways in which buildings grow and metamorphose over time, often becoming – like people – quirkier as they age.

The handsome commercial block seen here stands at 151 Milk Street, corner of Batterymarch. Photographed in 1869, it was built in the middle 1860s and damaged in the Great Boston Fire of 1872. No one today knows how bad that damage was, but it seems likely that the fire was the cause of the disappearance of the sloping mansard top story. Whatever the reason, three new floors were added around the turn of the century. These can be seen in the new photo, made this year.

The original building is Victorian Italianate in style, and the odd three-story top perhaps can be called neo Georgian. The two have little in common, yet they add up to the kind of pleasantly idiosyncratic mix that makes cities fascinating. In the old photo you can make out the names of some of the occupants, especially that of ‘Abram French & Co., Importers of Crockery, China & Glassware,’ a company that did business from this site as early as 1822.

To the left of 151 Milk in both photos, across the street at 50-54 Broad, is a small gem that is about to begin a new lease on life. This is a structure built of blocks of granite deliberately left rough for a massive, hand-hewn appearance. Used initially by Flint Brothers coffee merchants, it has survived almost unaltered since its construction in 1862 and is now one of the best downtown examples of the so-called Boston Granite Style of the mid-19th century.

Last year, 50-54 Broad was purchased by the Boston Society of Architects to become the society’s headquarters - the first building Boston’s architects have ever owned. Supported by gifts from architects, engineers, contractors, and others, a meticulous restoration and refitting is being carried out by architects Kenneth DeMay, Peter Forbes, and Dennis Rieske, with interiors by the firm of Hickox Williams, and with construction by Shawmut Design & Construction. The building is being finished in stages, with the society’s Architectural Books hop scheduled to open the day after Thanksgiving."

-Robert Campbell and Peter Vanderwarker, "CITYSCAPES - Milk Street: Storied Elegance," Boston Globe, 1989

map not available at this time.

Location

Milk Street & Batterymarch Street
Boston, MA 02109
United States

Nearby Items

Broad Street		245 feet
Hungarian Revolution		324 feet
Custom House Street at Well Street		618 feet
Boston Green Way		708 feet
Angell Memorial		732 feet
Langham Hotel / Former Federal Reserve Bank		808 feet
Quincy Market, Interior		870 feet