IN 1960, one of Boston’s oldest buildings, the Old Corner Bookstore, was slated to be torn down to make way for a parking garage. A group of concerned citizens rallied to save it. Their efforts evolved into Historic Boston Incorporated, a nonprofit organization that buys historically significant buildings and rehabilitates them for modern use. Next week, Historic Boston will celebrate another success — the revitalization of the Hayden Building in Chinatown, an architectural landmark that symbolizes the neighborhood’s escape from the ghosts of the seedy Combat Zone.
Historic Boston has played a major role in restoring older structures that once would have been lost forever. Rather than simply raise charitable donations and give away grants, it also serves as a nonprofit developer that buys buildings, improves them, and plows the profits back into new projects. Its nonprofit status means that it preserves the history of all neighborhoods, not just upscale ones. It helped save the Eustis Street Fire House in Dudley Square, the “Stone House” in Charlestown, and the Roxbury home where Malcolm X spent part of his childhood.
Comments
Yes, but when the past dictates contemporary design to the exclusion of technological progressive building, that's when we know we've taken it too far.
There are many examples of progressive technology and respect for history living together successfully. Examples of our history for all to see gives a sense of permanence and grounding for all to benefit from.