The Hayden Building is a historic building at 681-683 Washington Street in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The building was built in 1875 and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980 as well as designated a

Boston Landmark A Boston Landmark is a designation by the Boston Landmarks Commission for historic buildings and sites throughout the city of Boston based on the grounds that it has historical, social, cultural, architectural or aesthetic significance to New Engla ...

in 1977 Designed to act as commercial retail space, this four story brownstone building shows little of the ornamentation generally associated with

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

. It is the last surviving commercial retail building designed by Richardson in Boston. The building is in Boston's

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

neighborhood.

Description

The Hayden Building was the first commercial building built in Richardson's signature "

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

," with its quarry-faced ashlar and round-arched fenestration. Countless commercial structures in the late 19th century and early 20th century were later built in this style, but this is the only surviving commercial structure built by Richardson himself. It is constructed of Longmeadow

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...

and is sparsely detailed with granite

lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case of ...

and arches.

Background

This building was not recorded as a Henry Hobson Richardson building until work done by architectural and landscape historian Cynthia Zaitzevsky made note of it in 1973. Previous summaries of Richardson's works relied on office books. This building was built by the Richardson family and was not charged an architectural or design fee. This building replaced a drugstore that exploded on this site in 1875.

Restoration

Historic Boston Incorporated acquired the building in 1995 and completed a total exterior restoration to repair fire damage. Work was done by the architectural firm Bruner/Cott and Preservation Carpentry students at the

North Bennet Street School North Bennet Street School (NBSS) is a private vocational school in Boston, Massachusetts. NBSS offers nine full-time programs, including bookbinding, cabinet and furniture making, carpentry, jewelry making and repair, locksmithing and security t ...

. Damaged structural stonework was replaced using latex molded cast stone replicas from other parts of the building. Brownstone lintels and columns were replaced where necessary. In 2011, Boston architectural firm CUBE design + research was commissioned to complete a comprehensive restoration and conversion into multi-family housing.

References

External links

*, ''Historic Boston''.
"Hayden Building"
''Atlas Obscura''.
"Hayden building"

Massachusetts Historical Commission The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) is a review board for state and federal preservation programs for the United States state of Massachusetts. It consists of 17-member panel of appointed representatives from state and private agencies a ...

, 1978, ''OpenLibrary.org''.
The Hayden Building
official site * City of Bosto
Boston Landmarks Commission
https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/Hayden%20Building%20Study%20Report%20%2317_tcm3-23347.pdf Hayden Building Study Report] {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Commercial buildings completed in 1875 Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Commercial buildings in Boston National Register of Historic Places in Boston Landmarks in Chinatown, Boston 1875 establishments in Massachusetts

Description

Background

Restoration

See also

References

External links