State Street Block (built 1857) is a granite building near the waterfront in the
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
. Architect
Gridley James Fox Bryant
Gridley James Fox Bryant (August 29, 1816 – June 8, 1899), often referred to as G. J. F. Bryant, was a Boston architect, builder, and industrial engineer whose designs "dominated the profession of architecture in ostonand New England." ...
designed it. In the 1850s "the Long and Central Wharf Corporation ... sold each bay to individual owners, requiring that 'the granite to be used for the sidewalk & facade of each bay must be purchased from the Corporation & erected according to the architect's plan.'"
Walt Whitman
Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...
visited Boston in 1860, and wrote about what he saw: "Noblest of all State Street Block, east of the
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...
, rough granite. The above probably one of the finest pieces of com
ericalarchitecture in the world." Another visitor travelling through Boston (in 1859) called it "a magnificent block."
In the mid-20th century, "nearly three-quarters of the original 22-bay building ... was amputated for construction of the
Central Artery
The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3.
The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after ...
... and the roofline of the remainder has been destroyed."
[Petronella and Gordon. 2004; p.10.] The surviving portion of the block was added as part of the
Custom House District
Custom House District is a historic district in Boston, Massachusetts, located between the Fitzgerald Expressway (now Purchase St. / the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway) and Kilby Street and South Market and High and Batterymarch Streets. Nam ...
to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1973.
References
Further reading
* Southworth & Southworth. AIA Guide to Boston, 3rd ed. 2008.
External links
{{commons category, State Street Block
Google news archive Articles about State Street Block.
* Flickr
photo 2008
* Flickr
photo 2008
* Flickr
photo 2008
Images
File:StateStreetBlock Boston bySoule G90F368 037F detail 2 .jpg, State St. Block, ca.19th c., looking from waterfront
File:1870 FinancialDistrict Boston map byFFuchs JohnWeik detail2.png, Detail of 1870 overview of Boston, showing Custom House, and State Street Block at waterfront
File:Boston harbor and East Boston from State St. block, by Soule, John P., 1827-1904 2.jpg, The view of Boston Harbor from State Street Block, ca.19th c.
File:2008 StateStreetBlock Boston 2214858271.jpg, State Street and State Street Block, 2008
File:State Street Block - Boston, MA.jpg, State Street Block, 2015
Commercial buildings completed in 1857
History of Boston
Financial District, Boston
Commercial buildings in Boston
Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Boston
Commercial blocks on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
1857 establishments in Massachusetts