The Theater District’s newest club may not be over the top, but its designer does confess that the club is slightly over the rainbow. Emerald, located in the recently opened Revere Boston Common hotel, is a 6,000-square-foot lounge that is not intended to be a boisterous dance club — or a hotel lobby bar — but a stand-alone entity for sophisticated sipping designed by a firm out of Miami. It’s slated to open next week. We spoke to Emerald designer Amy Jakubowski from the firm BBG-BBGM about the transformation.
Q. I heard that your inspiration was “The Wizard of Oz.” Was that what the hotel wanted, or had you been spending too much time watching Turner Classic Movies?
A. It was sort of me going off on a tangent. The name of the bar is Emerald, and the idea presented was that it was the wicked jewel of the city. They had emeralds in mind — the jewel — but I heard “wicked” and thought “Wizard of Oz.” The next thing you know me and my team were going silly with witches and flying monkeys on the walls.
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Eric Levin
Interior of the new Emerald Lounge at the Revere Boston Common Hotel.
Q. I fully endorse flying monkeys in a lounge.
A. We all tried to keep the flying monkeys, but sadly they didn’t survive.
Q. It’s a fine line between theme bar and sophisticated lounge. But I heard there’s a ruby slipper in the lounge.
A. There is, but I’m not allowed to talk about it. It’s a big secret. But what I can tell you is that the art is an integral part of the project. We have a sculpture that breaks the space up that looks like a tornado. The nice thing about the tornado is that you either get “The Wizard of Oz” reference, or if not, it’s just a cool piece of art.
Q. Were you able to get across the original concept of the jewel?
A. We made the bar out of onyx, and we enriched it with rich green lighting. So it really feels like the Emerald City in there. It’s probably the only other underlying subtext that stayed from “The Wizard of Oz.” If we did anything else it would be too corny.
Q. Is there anything about the space that is Boston specific?
A. I think this lounge could work in any city. The lounge is really based on the concept of a space where you’d really want to spend time. There’s nothing specifically Boston about it. It’s a venue that could be in Chicago or Miami. It’s just a cool space.