Architecture News

Boston City Hall Designated as Historic Landmark

It's official: Boston City Hall is a local historic landmark. Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Landmarks Commission announced the designation on January 24, ensuring the preservation of the 1968 Brutalist building’s “unique character and historical identity for future generations.” The news comes a full month after the commission voted in favor of recognizing City Hall’s historic status—a crucial, near-final step forward in the designation process that left only Wu and Boston City Council’s respective sign-offs.

“Boston City Hall’s significance extends beyond its striking design, reflecting broader trends in 20th-century urban planning,” said Wu’s office and the landmarks commission in a joint announcement. “It introduced principles of integrated civic and public space that have influenced urban design across the United States. As both a product of Boston’s urban renewal era and a focal point for public gatherings and civic dialogue, the building has become a lasting cultural and civic symbol.”

Designed by local firm Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles (now KNW Architecture), City Hall anchors Boston’s Government Center complex, which includes Brutalist compatriot, Paul Rudolph’s Boston Government Service Center (1971), and the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (1966), designed by Walter Gropius and The Architects Collective with Samuel Glaser. The hulking concrete structure is one of the most prominent—and disparaged—works of Brutalist architecture in the United States, appearing on numerous local (and international) “ugliest buildings” lists. Once equally derided, the surrounding City Hall Plaza—previously a windswept, concrete-and-brick void—was softened by Sasaki in 2022. The entire complex was erected on the former site of Scollay Square, a lively downtown district that was leveled in the early 1960s, displacing thousands of residents.

“While Boston City Hall has faced criticism and calls for demolition in the past," the landmark designation announcement reads, "it has also inspired a dedicated community of advocates who recognize its architectural and cultural value.”

Among those defenders is Wu. While some of her predecessors have mocked the 318,000-square-foot building (or worse), she has been one of its champions. She referred to it in 2023 as an “architectural treasure” and has pledged to fund long-overdue modernization efforts, including an overhaul of the aging building’s outdated HVAC systems.

Boston City Hall and City Hall Plaza pictured in 1973. Photo by Peter H. Dreyer Rights, City of Boston; Peter H. Dreyer slide collection, Collection #9800.007, City of Boston Archives

A comprehensive, Getty Foundation–funded Conservation Management Plan completed in 2021 serves as a blueprint for enacting much-needed changes that preserve the building’s architectural integrity. As an official historic city landmark, any proposed alterations to key features of the building must undergo review by the Boston Landmarks Commission. The designation will not impact accessibility improvements—a “key priority”—that are planned for the building.

The landmarking of Boston City Hall comes at a time when public buildings designed in non-classical styles, particularly Brutalism, are finding themselves yet again squarely in the culture war crosshairs. But for Wu, “this milestone serves as an affirmation of our commitment to preserving this space as a vital symbol of our democracy and a center for civic engagement. Our administration is proud to help the building evolve into a space that is accessible to the community while maintaining its historic character.”

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KEYWORDS: Boston Brutalism

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Matt Hickman is senior news/digital editor at Architectural Record. Previously, he served as Senior Editor at The Architect’s Newspaper and has over a decade of experience as a freelance writer and editor specializing in historic preservation, public space, and the intersection of the natural world and built environment. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Matt holds an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from The New School.