Building Boston
A citywide celebration of Boston’s public spaces
Boston Public Library s 2012–2013
www.bpl.org/buildingboston
Building Boston is a citywide
celebration of Boston’s public
spaces – the architectural
and cultural cornerstones
that have provided a place
for generations to build and
share community.
Throughout the city’s long
history, our gardens, sports
arenas, libraries, courthouses,
public transportation
centers, and memorials have
represented some of the most
distinctive and well-known
elements of the cityscape.
Building Boston explores the
stories behind the creation of
these iconic public venues,
examining the conceivers,
constructors, chroniclers, and
ever-changing set of users who
call these spaces their own.
Exhibitions Central Library in Copley Square
Palaces for the People:
Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces
The People’s Own:
the Construction of the McKim Building
September 28, 2012 – February 24, 2013 s Changing Exhibits Gallery
October 9, 2012 – January 31, 2013 s Rare Books Lobby
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Boston Public Library
partner to present the first major exhibition on the Guastavino Company
and its architectural and historical legacy. Rafael Guastavino – Spanish
immigrant, innovative builder, and visionary designer – and his son Rafael
Jr. contributed to the design and construction of structural tile vaulting
in more than 1,000 major buildings across the United States, including
the Boston Public Library, Ellis Island, and Grand Central Station. Palaces
for the People features original drawings from the company’s archives;
large-scale, contemporary photographs of Guastavino construction;
a half-scale model vault showcasing the firm’s building techniques; and
historic artifacts, photographs, and manuscripts. This exhibition is funded
by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
From 1885 to 1895, the sounds of construction and the shouts of
laborers filled Copley Square. Passersby leaned out of trolley cars to
get a better look and curious pedestrians stood in wonder in front of
Old South Church as the new Boston Public Library slowly took shape.
Designed by Charles Follen McKim of the architectural firm McKim, Mead,
and White, the McKim Building – as it is now known – opened its doors
in February of 1895 at a cost of $2.5 million. The People’s Own features
historic photographs, dating primarily from August 1888 to December
1889, that document the library’s construction. These photographs
provide a pictorial narrative of the McKim Building, from the first shovels
of earth to the beautiful edifice that stands today.
Exhibitions #ENTRAL,IBRARYIN#OPLEY3QUAREsCONTINUED
An Elevated View: The Orange Line
October 19, 2012 – January 19, 2013 s Wiggin Gallery
Twenty-five years ago, the MBTA relocated the Orange Line,
dismantling the elevated rail that had long defined Boston’s Southwest
Corridor. Two years prior to the project, the private nonprofit agency
URBANARTS organized, on behalf of the MBTA, a program called
Arts in Transit. The project paired photographers with photography
students to document the corridor in transition from Forest Hills to
Dover Station. In the fall of 1985, the students and their teachers
began photographing the Orange Line and its architectural and social
surroundings. An Elevated View features more than 65 photographs
from the project held by the Boston Public Library Print Department.
Boston During the Gilded Age:
Mapping Public Places
November 16, 2012 – March 17, 2013 s Norman B. Leventhal Map Center
The Gilded Age in the late 19th century was a period of transformation
in Boston. Ingenious engineering projects allowed the City to expand,
and a devastating fire led to swift and progressive redevelopment of the
commercial district. Documenting Boston’s radically changing geography,
this exhibition uses maps and other graphics from the Boston Public
Library’s special collections to focus on the evolving street pattern and
emerging park system. The story begins with the Boston Common and
Public Garden, moving west to examine the growth of open spaces in
Back Bay, then south to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace,
finishing with the development of Copley Square.
Special Tours Central Library in Copley Square
Boston Sports Temples
November 17, 2012 – May 31, 2013 sJohnson Lobby
Boston Sports Temples showcases Boston’s beloved sports venues –
most notably the Boston Garden, Fenway Park, Braves Field, and Suffolk
Downs – and their unique roles in the hearts and daily lives of generations
of New Englanders. Featuring the Boston Public Library’s outstanding
collection of historic sports photography, the exhibition follows the
creation and evolution of these four great public venues; their varied and
changing roles, functions, and communities of users; and their powerful
connections with millions of devoted fans who have filled their seats
night after night, season after season. This exhibition is sponsored by
the Boston Public Library Foundation.
Guastavino at the BPL Tours
Through February 23, 2013
Thursdays and Saturdays at 2:00 pm
Guided tours of the gallery exhibition Palaces for the People:
Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces will be
followed by a special library tour featuring examples of
Guastavino vaulting throughout the building. The hourlong tours are free and open to the public. No reservations
required. Meet in the Palaces for the People exhibition,
located in the Changing Exhibits Gallery.
Lowell Lecture Series: Common Ground Rabb Lecture Hall, Central Library in Copley Square
Built around the theme “Common Ground,”
distinguished speakers in the 2012–2013
Lowell Lecture Series will discuss
the creation and evolution of
public spaces — both historical
and contemporary.
This series is generously
sponsored by the Lowell Institute,
established in 1836 with the
specific mission of making
great ideas accessible
to all people, free
of charge.
David Macaulay
Thursday, October 11, 2012 s 6:00 pm
From the pyramids of Egypt to the
skyscrapers of New York City, the human
race’s great architectural and engineering
accomplishments have been demystified
through David Macaulay’s elaborate showand-tells. Born in 1946, David Macaulay
moved from England to New Jersey at the age
of eleven and began to draw seriously after
graduating from high school. He published
his first lavishly illustrated book, Cathedral,
in 1973. Following in this tradition, Macaulay
created other books – including City, Castle,
Pyramid, Mill, Underground, Unbuilding,
and Mosque – that have provided the
explanations of the architectural how and
why in a way that is both accessible and
entertaining. His detailed illustrations and
sly humor have earned him fans of all ages,
and five titles have been made into popular
PBS television programs. His many awards
include the Caldecott Medal and Honor
Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award,
the Christopher Award, and the Washington
Post-Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award.
In 2006, he was awarded a prestigious
MacArthur Fellowship.
Robert Campbell and
Peter Vanderwarker
Justice Stephen Breyer and
Judge Douglas Woodlock
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 s 6:00 pm
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 s 6:00 pm
Boston Globe architecture critic
Robert Campbell and photographer
Peter Vanderwarker co-authored
Cityscapes of Boston: An American
City through Time (1994), which explored
Boston past and present and the rise, fall,
and evolution of urban centers. Campbell
received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
for his writing on architecture. He has been
in private practice as an architect since
1975 and has served as a consultant to
cultural institutions and cities. He received
the 2004 Award of Honor of the Boston
Society of Architects, “in recognition of
outstanding contributions to architecture
and to the profession.” Peter Vanderwarker is
a freelance photographer and author whose
work interprets both natural and man-made
environments. He is the author or co-author of
four books, including The Big Dig: Reshaping
an American City. Vanderwarker holds a
degree in Architecture from the University of
California at Berkeley and served as a Loeb
Fellow at Harvard University in 1996
and 1997.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen
Breyer has always had a special interest
in architecture: he helped oversee the
design and construction of the John
Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse
and harbor park in Boston and wrote the
foreword to Celebrating the Courthouse:
A Guide for Architects, Their Clients,
and the Public. He currently serves as
a jury member for the prestigious Pritzker
Architecture Prize. In 1980, he was
appointed to the United States Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit by President
Carter, becoming Chief Judge in 1990.
In 1994, he was appointed a Supreme Court
Justice by President Clinton. Douglas P.
Woodlock was appointed a United States
District Judge for the District of Massachusetts
in 1986. He was a charter member of the
Space, Facilities and Security Committee of
the Judicial Conference of the United States,
developing design standards for federal
courthouses nationally. In 1996, he received
the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public
Architecture from the American Institute
of Architects.
Lowell Lecture Series: Common Ground 2ABB,ECTURE(ALL#ENTRAL,IBRARYIN#OPLEY3QUAREsCONTINUED
John Ochsendorf
Maya Lin
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 s 6:00 pm
Thursday, January 24, 2013 s 6:00 pm
John Ochsendorf is Associate Professor
of Architecture and Civil and Environmental
Engineering at MIT, where he researches
the mechanics of historic monuments and
the design of more sustainable buildings.
He is the author of Guastavino Vaulting:
The Art of Structural Tile (2010).
Maya Lin has created a remarkable
body of work that includes large-scale
site-specific installations, intimate studio
artworks, architecture, and memorials.
Her artwork has been shown in museum
and gallery exhibitions in the United
States and around the world.
Ochsendorf directs the Guastavino
research project at MIT and is the curator
of Palaces for the People: Guastavino and
America’s Great Public Spaces, the first
major exhibition celebrating the Guastavino
Company and its architectural legacy, on view
at the Central Library through February 24,
2013. Ochsendorf has received numerous
international awards, including a Rome Prize
from the American Academy in Rome, the
Edoardo Benvenuto Prize in Mechanics and
Architecture from Genoa, and a MacArthur
Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation.
A committed environmentalist, she is also at
work on her last memorial, What is Missing?,
a multi-sited artwork that raises awareness
about the current crisis surrounding
biodiversity and habitat loss.
Lin graduated from Yale University receiving
a BA in 1981 and an MA in 1986, and
has maintained a professional studio in
New York City since then. She is a member
of the American Academy of Arts and Letters,
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and was awarded the National Medal of Arts
by President Barack Obama in 2009.
Janet Marie Smith
Thursday, March 7, 2013 s 6:00 pm
Janet Marie Smith served as Senior Vice
President of Planning and Development for
the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2009,
overseeing the preservation of historic
Fenway Park and leading the program
that placed this significant landmark on
the National Historic Register. In 2012,
the Boston Baseball Writers honored Smith
with a Special Achievement Award for
her work at Fenway Park. Smith previously
worked for the Orioles from 1989-94 as
Vice President of Planning and Development
during the design and construction of Oriole
Park at Camden Yards. In August 2012,
Smith joined the Los Angeles Dodgers
as Senior Vice President of Planning and
Development to oversee upgrades and
enhancements to Dodger Stadium.
More Programs & Lectures
Panel Discussion:
Orange Line Photographers
Thursday, November 1, 2012 s 6:00 pm
Commonwealth Salon, Central Library in Copley Square
In the fall of 1985, the Arts in Transit project
paired photographers with photography students to
document Boston’s elevated Orange Line rail system
and its architectural and social surroundings prior to
the elevated’s demolition in 1987. David Akiba and
Lou Jones, two photographers involved with the project,
will discuss their photos and their experiences capturing
neighborhoods in transition.
The Friends of the Public Garden:
Four Decades of
Public-Private Partnership
Thursday, November 1, 2012 s 6:30 pm s West End Branch
Speaker Elizabeth Vizza is the Executive Director of the Friends of
the Public Garden, a nonprofit partner with the City of Boston Parks
Department. Since 1970, the group has been dedicated to caring
for Boston’s first public parks: the Boston Common, Public Garden,
and Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Vizza has served on many nonprofit
boards and public agency task forces dealing with the creation,
protection, and enhancement of urban public space and historic
landscapes. This program is presented in partnership with
the Friends of the Public Garden.
Lego Building Class:
Create Your Own Public Space
Boston Neighborhoods:
People, Place, and Planning
Fridays: November 9, 16, 23 and 30 s 3:30 pm s Fields Corner Branch
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 s 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Tuesdays: January 8, 15, 22, and 29 s 3:30 pm s Tierney Learning Center
This is a four-week class where children will create and construct
a public space, a park, a subway station, or a sports stadium using
Legos. Please register in advance with one of the Boston Public Library
locations listed above. This program is a partnership with the Children’s
Technology Workshop Boston.
An exploration of how people, place, and planning interacted
throughout history to create the Boston of today, including
the “eras” of Boston’s history shaped by these forces.
James Madden is a co-creator with MIT professor Tunney Lee
of “Boston: People, Place, and Planning,” a web-based,
comprehensive, and accessible history of Boston’s
urban development.
The Grandest Boulevard:
Commonwealth Avenue Mall
Thursday, December 13, 2012 s 6:00 pm
Commonwealth Salon, Central Library in Copley Square
Commonwealth Avenue Mall is a grand allée of shaded trees forming
the central axis of the Back Bay and connecting the Public Garden
to the Back Bay Fens. From its inception in 1856, the Mall has been
a vital and beautiful amenity for both residents and visitors; Winston
Churchill praised it as “the grandest boulevard in North America.”
Speaker Margaret Pokorny moved to Back Bay in 1980. Her thesis for
the Radcliffe Seminars program in Landscape Design was a history and
master plan for the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Pokorny has served on
the boards of the Friends of Copley Square, the Friends of the Public
Garden, the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, the Garden
Club of the Back Bay, and the Esplanade Association. This program is
presented in partnership with the Friends of the Public Garden.
More Programs & Lectures continued
Annual Druker Lecture:
Celebrating Art and Design
Saturday, January 12, 2013 s 3:00 pm
Abbey Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Elizabeth Diller is a founding principal of Diller Scofidio + Renfro,
an interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture,
the visual arts, and the performing arts. DS+R’s projects include
the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Lincoln Center
expansion and renovation in New York, the Museum of Image and
Sound in Rio de Janeiro, the Blur Building in Switzerland, the Broad
Museum in Los Angeles, and the Columbia University Business School.
DS+R are recipients of the MacArthur Foundation “genius” award,
the National Design Award from the Smithsonian, the Brunner Prize
from the American Academy of the Arts and Letters, and numerous
AIA awards. Diller is a Professor of Architecture at Princeton University.
Incombustible Construction:
Guastavino’s Fireproof Vaults in Context
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 s 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Rafael Guastavino’s floor and ceiling vaults are celebrated for their
beauty, but they were introduced originally for a very practical reason:
to protect buildings from fire. This lecture will present the history of
systems of fireproof floor construction used in the United States and
illustrate how Guastavino’s system compared with the alternatives
when it was introduced. Speaker Sara E. Wermiel is an independent
scholar, historic preservation consultant, and teacher. Her specialties
are the history of nineteenth-century American technology,
industrialization, and urbanization.
Joe Gallo & Public Art
Monday, February 11, 2013 s 6:30 pm s Adams Street Branch
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 s 6:30 pm s Faneuil Branch
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 s 6:30 pm s South End Branch
Boston is home to some of the most extraordinary public art in
North America and features works by such famed sculptors as
Daniel Chester French, Katherine Lane Weems, George Aarons, and
Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Joseph Gallo, author of Boston Bronze &
Stone Speak To Us: A Guide to Public Sculpture in Boston, will
present a slide show highlighting notable monuments throughout
the city and will also discuss various social and ethnographic patterns
that emerge in Boston’s public art.
Boston’s Chinatown:
Beyond Stereotypes, Food, and Boundaries
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 s 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Boston’s Chinatown started on Harrison Avenue around 1880 to
serve as the center for the Chinese in the Greater Boston area. Today,
Chinatown has evolved into an active residential neighborhood and a vital
commercial and services center for Greater Boston. Speaker Tunney Lee
was born in Taishan, Guangdong, China; grew up in Boston’s Chinatown;
and attended the Quincy School and Boston Latin. Professor Lee is
retired from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the
Department of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
A History of Fenway Park
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 s 6:30 pm s Adams Street Branch
Richard A. Johnson serves as the curator of the Sports Museum at
TD Garden. He has authored and edited numerous books on a variety
of sports topics, including histories of each of Boston’s four major
sports franchises as well as the Boston Braves, Boston Garden,
Boston Marathon, and a century of Boston sports. During his lecture,
Mr. Johnson will discuss the history of various Boston sports temples,
such as Braves Field, Fenway Park, and the Boston Garden.
More Programs & Lectures continued
The Harbor Islands:
Boston’s Unique Neighborhood
The Memoir Project:
Recording the Memoirs of Boston’s Seniors
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 s 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 s 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
One of Boston’s most noted archaeologists presents the history of
this unique area and explains why it can be considered a neighborhood.
Speaker Ellen Berkland is the former Boston City Archeologist and
currently serves as the Archaeologist for the Department of Conservation
and Recreation.
Since 2008, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Boston’s Elderly
Commission have partnered with a local nonprofit, Grub Street, to
produce the Memoir Project. The project has gathered senior citizens
from Boston neighborhoods to write down their personal memories,
an important part of the great history of the city. This landmark project
guides participants in sharing their stories through writing their memories
in bound journals for their families and future generations to learn from
and remember. Project staff will describe how the partnership came
about and explain the techniques they use for gathering and writing
oral histories.
The West End:
From Early Immigration to Urban Excess
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 s 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
James Campano and Duane Lucia of the West End Museum will
present a broad look at an important American urban neighborhood
from the seventeenth century to the present time. The West End
Museum is a neighborhood museum located at 150 Staniford Street
on the ground floor of West End Place. The museum is dedicated
to the collection, preservation, and interpretation of the history
and culture of the West End of Boston. James Campano is
Founder of the West End Museum and Duane Lucia is
the Executive Director.
Design by Neva Corbo-Hudak
Images courtesy of the Boston Public Library Print Department, including photos by Russ Adams, David Akiba, and Leslie Jones. Map detail courtesy of
the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library. Other photos courtesy of Michael Freeman, Gina Perille, Walter Smith, and Peter Vanderwarker.
www.bpl.org/buildingboston
City of Boston
Thomas M. Menino, Mayor
Boston Public Library
Amy E. Ryan, President
Board of Trustees
Jeffrey B. Rudman, Chair
Evelyn Arana-Ortiz, Vice Chair
Zamawa Arenas
Carol Fulp
Paul A. La Camera
Dennis Lehane
Byron Rushing
www.bpl.org
700 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
10.2012