Two Fenway Icons Accepted for Further Study as Boston Landmarks

The Alliance has supported petitions to designate two of the Fenway’s most valued historic buildings—Symphony Hall and Horticultural Hall—as Boston Landmarks. The petitions were submitted by community residents and were accepted for further study by the Boston Landmarks Commission on June 28.

Symphony Hall

Symphony Hall, at 301 Massachusetts Avenue and completed in 1900, is a first of its kind, the product of tedious scientific testing, careful calculation, and collaborative interdisciplinary planning. The influential structure effected the construction of musical venues across the country and internationally.

Built specifically for the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1899-1900, the structure provided a space better fit for the orchestra’s performances. Henry Lee Higginson, the founder of the BSO, helped put together a team of renowned architects, scientists and acoustic specialists to design a cutting edge performance space. Prominent architects McKim, Mead & White, renowned for designs such as the Boston Public Library, the New York Public Library, and the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., joined a team that included Harvard physics professors Wallace Clement Sabine and Charles Robert Cross, both acoustics specialists.

The interior of the hall, down to its pilasters and statues, was designed to produce the highest possible quality acoustic conditions. The statues, coffers and carvings served to break up sound waves, preventing reverberation of echoes into the audience’s listening space. The parallel walls and horizontal ceiling within auditorium enhance the sound of the music. Aside from the technological advances, Symphony Hall also houses a fine collection of artwork and incorporates local materials. The statues the line the auditorium walls were cast by the Boston artist, Pietro Caproni. The structure is laid with Bedford limestone trim, and the base is made from Quincy granite, linking the hall with other buildings throughout the city.

Symphony Hall's significance also stems from its association with world class musical performance and composition. During its fiftieth anniversary season in 1930-31, an astonishing twelve different pieces were commissioned by the house orchestra, some of which have become masterpieces of the century. Roland Hayes, who made his debut with the BSO at Symphony Hall in 1917, became the first African American ever to perform with a symphony orchestra in the country.

Horticultural Hall

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded in 1829, is the oldest society of its kind in the United States. Throughout the centuries, it has greatly affected the landscape of Boston by pioneering the garden cemetery movement in 1831 at Mount Auburn Cemetery, which still stands as a lush and peaceful retreat for the city. The Society also championed the school garden movement in the 1880s, the victory garden movement during World War II, and promoted home gardens to adorn Boston’s back alleys in the 1930s. Aside from these influential movements, the Society has continuously served to educate the public about the local plants and flowers of Massachusetts, holding weekly shows, free and open to the public, at its three headquarters.

Constructed in 1901, Horticultural Hall, at 1154 Boylston Street, was designed by Edmund M. Wheelwright, who also designed several Boston hospitals, schools, the New England Conservatory, the Park Street MBTA head houses, and the Harvard Lampoon Building in Cambridge, and is a beautiful example of turn-of-the-century Renaissance Revival style. Finished one year after the completion of Symphony Hall, the structure was built using materials that complement its neighbor, including the same red brick, Bedford limestone, and Deer Island granite. Horticultural Hall’s detailed ornamentation speaks to its use,  including gatherings of fruits and flowers and marble medallions referring to the flower and plant shows that occurred in the hall.

Horticultural Hall is not only an architecturally integral part of the Fenway and Back Bay neighborhoods, but also serves as a monument to one of the city’s most prominent and influential organizations. Still in operation, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society now boasts over 5,500 members, and continues to educate and encourage the public on the enjoyment and understanding of plants and the environment.

The Fenway neighborhood is home to some of the city's most important cultural institutions and the buildings that house them. The Alliance supports landmark designation of many of these properties, including Symphony Hall and Horticultural Hall, but also recognizes that, should they be designated, design guidelines will need to provide ample flexibility to allow the buildings to evolve to meet future needs.