Mechanics Hall (Boston, Massachusetts) was a building and community institution on
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 ...
at West Newton Street, from 1881 to 1959. Commissioned by the
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, it was built by the noted architect
William Gibbons Preston. The building was located between the
Boston and Albany railroad yards and Huntington Avenue. It was razed for the
Prudential Center
Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...
urban renewal
Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
project of the early 1960s. The site is on the north side of Huntington Avenue, and since 1941 has been served by
Prudential Station
Prudential station is an underground light rail station on the MBTA Green Line E branch, located below Huntington Avenue next to the Prudential Center complex near Belvidere Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Prudential station is accessible ...
(''nee'' Mechanics Hall Station) of the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
Green Line E branch
The E branch (also referred to as the Huntington Avenue branch, or formerly as the Arborway Line) is a light rail line in Boston, Cambridge, Medford, and Somerville, Massachusetts, operating as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Aut ...
.
The building's sizable auditorium was host to meetings and conventions. Over the years the building was host to events such as boat shows, auto shows, dog shows, flower shows and sporting shows. For example, in 1883 the Foreign Exhibition Association held a large exhibit of "
foreign arts, manufactures and products". Also in 1883 the Olympian Club held a "floral display and costume carnival" that included indoor
rollerskating
Roller skating is the act of travelling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, side ...
.
It was briefly the home court of the
Boston Whirlwinds of the
American Basketball League.
Today, the site is the location of
111 Huntington Avenue
111 Huntington Avenue is a skyscraper on Huntington Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Prudential Center complex that also houses the Prudential Tower. Completed in 2002, the tower is tall and houses 36 floors. ...
.
See also
*
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association
Notes
Image gallery
;Mechanics Hall, Huntington Avenue (1881–1959)
File:1883 Rollerskate Carnival in Boston USA.jpg, Rollerskating, 1883 (photo by A.N. Hardy)
File:Boston 1888 SampsonMap BackBay detail.jpg, Detail of 1888 map of Back Bay, showing the new Mechanics Hall on Huntington Ave.
File:2350779035 MCMA Boston.jpg, Sportsman's Show, Mechanics Hall, 19th century
File:2350779177 MechanicsHall Boston.jpg, Sportsman's Show, Mechanics Hall, 19th century
Image:1911 auto MechanicsBuilding BostonEveningTranscript March2.png, Advertisement for auto show, 1911
File:Streetcars and Mechanics Hall, March 1920.jpg, Mechanics Hall, Huntington Ave., 1920
File:1959 MechanicsHall Boston 076323pv.jpg, Mechanics Hall, 1959
File:1959 MechanicsHall Boston 076324pv.jpg, Mechanics Hall, 1959
External links
History and images from the Boston Public LibraryImage of exhibit interior, c. 1881Documents related to the razing of buildings for Prudential site* Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association, Exhibition Hall Huntington Avenue & West Newton Street, Boston, Suffolk County, MA
* Library of Congress
Photo of Creatore's Band on steps of Mechanics Building Huntington Ave, Boston, Mass, 1903, by
E. Chickering
{{coord, 42, 20, 45.07, N, 71, 4, 54.52, W, display=title
Cultural history of Boston
Demolished buildings and structures in Boston
19th century in Boston
20th century in Boston
Back Bay, Boston
Buildings and structures completed in 1881
Defunct sports venues in Boston
1881 establishments in Massachusetts
1959 disestablishments in Massachusetts
World's fair sites in the United States
Buildings and structures demolished in 1959