The AIA Awards the Marketplace
Market, schmich via flickr /Artwork: designslinger]
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced their 2009 AIA Twenty-five Year
Award last week - and the winner is: Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston! In the words of the Institute, "The AIA Twenty-five Year Award recognizes an architectural design that has stood the test of time for 25 years." And, the Faneuil Hall development has turned out to be a rousing success.
For those of you too young to remember, or if you didn't live in one of those old, dirty, big cities in
the 1970s, those were tough times for most of the country's urban centers. There were all kinds of schemes and proposals bandied about to save the historic urban core from simply disappearing into a pile of rubble. Faneuil Hall was one of those plans born out of a desire to stem the tide of decline and despair. Again, lets turn to the AIA:
"The redesign of Faneuil Hall helped reinvigorate Boston as a historic tourist destination and provided
Quincy Market with an architectural anchor. Benjamin Thompson & Associates work centered on the
importance of re-establishing the traditional commercial forum as an urban gathering place to enjoy a
sense of community, providing opportunities for the intermingling of diverse cultures, events, and
intimate and friendly interchange."
The Hall itself had gone through several transformations prior to the 1976 revamp. The
original building dates back to 1742 and underwent a major expansion in 1806. The hall part of the building was (and still is) on the second floor, so that the ground level could serve as a market. The adjacent Quincy Market structures, built in 1826, are also remnants of the once thriving Boston Harbor shipping industry where goods arriving by sea were warehoused, sold and distributed. Today the 6 acre Marketplace is as busy as ever, with shoppers and tourists instead of longshoremen and grizzled wholesalers.
Schermerhorn Row on the far right & a model of the Seaport project, thenewseaport.com /Artwork: designslinger]
In an almost identical urban revitalization project, the old East River harbor area in lower
Manhattan was turned into a tourist/shopping destination. The project centered around a block-long group of buildings known as Schermerhorn Row. Starting in 1811, the merchant and ship owner Peter Schermerhorn built a series of structures to serve as warehouses and counting houses along the busy harbor waterfront. As the shipping industry changed over the decades, the former seaport became a run-down, hard-on-its-luck area of abandoned and under utilized structures. In the late 60s, the last surviving buildings were designated for redevelopment and reuse, and by the early 80s, the South Street Seaport was as busy as its Boston counterpart. The Schermerhorn group is now the home of the South Street Seaport Museum and the district is looking at another major development, which is in the planning stages.
The new Seaport plan preserves the oldest structures of New York's first harbor, (the red
flag in the photo on the right marks Schermerhorn Row) and adds an entirely new mix of buildings at the pier area. New apartments, 2 hotels, a revitalized riverfront, and of course - more shopping, are components of the proposal. Given the economy, this undertaking may be put on the back burner for a while. But, whatever the outcome, I'm all for the continuing commitment to the renovation, restoration, redesign, and the sustainable and adaptable reuse of our urban heritage.
Posted by designslinger at 12/15/2008 10:06 AM 
Categories: Cities, Architecture, Urbanism, History, Preservation
Categories: Cities, Architecture, Urbanism, History, Preservation
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