While officials in Boston push ahead with plans for a new city hall, advocates are stepping up efforts to save the existing structure. The Boston Landmarks Commission agreed this spring to review a petition seeking protections for the building’s exterior and main lobby. Supporters view the case as a local and national bellwether for preserving Modernist architecture, which increasingly finds itself in developers’ crosshairs.
Kallmann McKinnell and Knowles’s Boston City Hall has been controversial since its completion in 1968. Many architecture critics praise its Brutalist aesthetic—with characteristic features including exposed concrete, bold forms, and monumentality—and its Classical references. But detractors, including Mayor Thomas Menino, cite the building’s massive scale, labyrinthine interiors, and vast windswept plaza as unwelcoming and inefficient.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.