Horticultural Hall, at the corner of

Huntington Avenue Huntington Avenue is a thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, beginning at Copley Square and continuing west through the Back Bay, Fenway, Longwood, and Mission Hill neighborhoods. It is signed as Massachusetts Route 9 (forme ...

and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, was built in 1901. It sits across the street from Symphony Hall. Since 2020, it has been owned by

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

. It is the current home to The William Morris Hunt Memorial Library of the Museum of Fine Arts as well as to offices of ''Boston'' magazine, 829 Studios, and Small Army, in addition to a performance space of the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

History

The building was the third "Horticultural Hall" built for the

Massachusetts Horticultural Society The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to Mass Hort or MHS, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusettsbr>It describes itself as the oldest formally organized horticultural institution in the United States ...

. It was designed in the English Renaissance Revival style in 1901 by architects Wheelwright and Haven on land purchased by the Society. (This firm also designed the whimsical

Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduate ...

Castle in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

.) When the Hall was dedicated in 1901, thousands of members and visitors attended its ten-day opening, during which time the hall was filled with

amaryllis ''Amaryllis'' () is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, '' Amaryllis belladonna'', is a native of the Western Cape region of ...

es,

azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

s, ''

Pelargonium ''Pelargonium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennial plant, perennials, succulent plant, succulents, and shrubs, common name, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. ''Geranium'' is also ...

'' geraniums, gloxinias,

jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

, trumpet lilies,

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

wisteria ''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae). The genus includes four species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and nor ...

, and a collection of 1,000

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s, the finest collection gathered in America to that time. The building's larger lecture hall could seat 300. It was home to many organizations including the Benevolent Fraternity Fruit and Flower Mission, the Wildflower Society, the Garden Club Federation (whose founding in 1927 was organized by the Society), the Boston Mycological Club, the New England Gourd Society, the New England Gladiolus Society, the Herb Society of America, and the Boston Aquarium Society. The building was renovated in 1984, and sold to the neighboring

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

Church in 1992. This building is currently under study by the

Boston Landmarks Commission The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) is the historic preservation agency for the City of Boston. The commission was created by state legislation in 1975. History Urban renewal in the United States started with the Housing Act of 1949, part of Pres ...

for landmark status.

Other buildings

Former buildings (1845–1901)

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society has built and occupied a series of "Horticultural Halls" in Boston, including the first on School Street (1845), the second on Tremont Street (1865), and this third hall (1901).

Elm Bank Horticulture Center, Wellesley (2001–present)

The society's current home is the Elm Bank Horticulture Center, located on the town lines of Wellesley and

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

(2001).McDonald, Matt. "Horticultural Society gets new digs; now, at Elm Bank, they can actually plant things." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', 5 July 2001, p. 1

Images

File:1900 HorticulturalHall Boston.png, 1900, sketch File:1901 library HorticulturalHall MassAve Boston.png, 1901, library Image:1901 chrysanthemum show HorticulturalHall MassAve Boston November.png, 1901, Chrysanthemum show File:1908 ChickeringHall map Boston byBromley.png, 1908, map of surrounding area Image:1911 auto MechanicsBuilding BostonEveningTranscript March2.png, 1911, ad Image:1912 Italian garden HorticulturalHall MassAve BostonUSA.png, 1912, Italian garden Image:Horticultural Hall, April 1920.jpg, 1920, exterior File:Boston Horticultural Society Exhibition, Horticultural Hall, Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. LOC 7535952450 (cropped).jpg, 1921, hand-colored glass lantern slide Image:Horticultural Hall, Boston, Massachusetts.JPG, 2005, exterior Image:Horticultural Hall Boston.jpg, 2008, exterior File:Horticultural Hall Massachusetts Horticultural Society Boston.jpg, 2018, exterior

References

External links

* {{Authority control Event venues established in 1901 Back Bay, Boston Buildings and structures in Boston 1901 establishments in Massachusetts