City Hall Plaza

Tremont, Court, and Cambridge Streets
Boston, MA

Contributed by Project for Public Spaces

This notorious product of late-'60s "urban renewal" is over 30 years old - can a renovation solve its deep-rooted problems?

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06/27/02 Mary Holmes said:

I worked for the American Bicentennial Commission in Boston (Boston 200)from 1974-77. During that time City Hall Plaza was alive with colorful umbrellas of food vendors at lunchtime. Thousands of folks who worked downtown would flock to the site to buy an array of ethnic foods and beverages. It was a model I tried to promote to the Rock Hall of Fame here in Cleveland until I learaned by calling Boston City Hall that the practise had stopped in Boston because of grease stains on the brick. I have a splendid picture of the arrival of Her Majesty, the Queen of England, at City Hall Boston surrounded by hundreds of Revoluntionary "militia" in full costume for the event. The plaza has had some glory days.

07/17/02 T. Nielsen Hayden said:

It's almost a shock to leave the busy, human-scale streets of Boston and enter City Hall Plaza. It's a horrible vast blank space, with a building in the middle that looks like its sole design consideration was to be as defensible as possible.

03/18/03 michael williams said:

I walk past this plaza daily and always feel the disappointment of seeing a lost opportunity on a grand scale. What would it take to animate the plaza? How can a city care so little about a space with such promise as to erect a giant white plastic sprung structure for a Christmas exhibit then leave it there for most of the year as if this civic space were a storage yard? Several years ago the City held an international design competition to gather ideas for improving the plaza. Entries were submitted from around the world. It picked as the winner a tongue in cheek entry that had no chance of being built, reducing the whole effort to a joke, and in the process diminishing those designers who took the effort seriously. So what would it take? I like the previous comment about how the plaza once was more of a festive space, with umbrellas, food, bustling with urban life. First the City has to care. Second, a small effort could go a long way. I think of all the great examples in Whyte's "Social Life of Small Urban Spaces"-- the idea of triangulation, in particular the Louise Nevelson sculpture that was successful when put in a place where people could gravitate to it on their way by. Or in Chris Alexander's book a Pattern Language-- "Something Roughly In The Middle" is consistently an element of a successful large space. So maybe we should put something roughly in the middle and see what happens. We have learned so much about urban design and public spaces that it is a shame that we cannot do better in a great city like Boston. (A couple of minor notes-- the second picture, showing the white structure is reversed; and the way to remember the order of the tricky vowels in Faneuil, I was once told, is to think "Englishmen United In Liberty". I'd love to see more comments and interest, and ideas about this potentially great space. Someday we'll get it right.

06/18/03 Andrew Shalit said:

Years and years of efforts to agree on a grand redesign have failed to produce anything. We still have a desolation of brick. I have never understood why the city doesn't just replace the brick with grass, and perhaps a few ornamental trees. Even if this did not realize the full potential of the space, it would be a vast improvement over the current situation.

12/26/03 Richard McDonough said:

An interesting piece of sculpture, City Hall, is surrounded by a Soviet space. Boston has yet to learn that the wall has to come down between people and places. This is a vast, empty, hostile space.

04/06/04 Keith Spofford said:

I think it DOES work and still DOES. It’s a great place for a walk and to enjoy some "open space" and not feel like a sardine. There are numerous activities during the summertime held on the plaza and I for one would hate to see it "developed." We need more open spaces like it!

07/26/04 Warren Lee said:

In the post 9/11 era, this is could be the future of public spaces. A great defensible position with a wide killing zone..... Ah "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".....

But seriously....It's a pretty useless space unless one of the Boston sports team happens to win a championship. It's so vast and wind swept...makes one reflect about the lower class residents of Scollay Square and how some high minded movers & shakers thought they could create a better space. The weight of the opinions and desires of the have nots vs the haves......

08/25/05 Traci Roloff said:

I have lived in Boston for seven years and work as an architect nearby and I, too, find City Hall Plaza terribly out of scale and out of touch. Especially in the winter months, it is a cold, windy place that people pass through but never spend any actual time in. The city has made feeble efforts to bring people in, including a farmers market, concerts, and events such as the scooperbowl and holiday village. But at the end of the day, most people avoid the plaza, opting for any other park or public space nearby. When I think of the vibrant and beloved neighborhood (the West End) that was razed to make way for this hole, it breaks my heart.

02/03/06 William Wolf said:

What could be done?

First, get some people to come there and stay. Street vendors, as in 1976, should be brought back. I'd also suggest a cafe or restaurant with mostly glass walls in encourage visibility in and out. The city will find it easiest to attract people during the summer but should also aim to change the architecture of the place so that even in the colder, wetter months, people will come here regularly. Encourage zoning that allows more people to live along the edge of the plaza. Too much of the space is devoted to 9-5 employees. Make sure that the ground floor of any apartment building is a public, preferably commercial, space visible to and accessible from the sidewalk. No shopping mall design with one grand entrance to dozens of shops hidden inside and without any entrance of their own onto the sidewalk.

Second, vary and soften this immense, hard space. Add some flower beds with benches around the permiter and moving water inside. People pour through here at least twice a day--in the morning rushing to work and in the evening racing back home--and there should be some reason for them to want to pause here. Some of these flower beds should be stand-alone, others should be alongside cafes or restaurants.

Third, try to overcome the ways the surrounding streets isolate the entire plaza. The most expensive way would be to build pedestrian/bike overpasses, but that should probably wait until the Plaza has been shown to have attractive power. It would be easier to rezone and allow small shops along the perimeter of the plaza. Florists, newstands, cafes, delis, beauty salons, gyms, bookstores, creches could all be places here. Emphasis should be placed on making these places visible to others and also easy to linger in.

04/18/06 John Tyson said:

I agree with the previous poster, those are some good suggestions. Another thing to think about would be reopening Hanover Street, which would do a lot to connect Beacon Hill and the North End. Also, they should flatten the damned thing out, as the changes in grade really ruin the usefulness of such a space.

06/03/06 J T said:

Grow a space to congregate at lunchtime. Start with solid wi-fi coverage and places to sit down. Bring up connection points for electricity, water, and sewer for mobile vendors.

07/20/06 alanna prince said:

I think that city hall isn't half as bad as everyone else makes it out to be. Yes, it is very blank but i think that it is very open and has endless potential

11/02/06 E Hude said:

Great public space (and downtown!) is Portland, Oregon's Pioneer Courthouse Square: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Courthouse_Square Having worked many many years in performing arts/destination mktg - I agree with comments on programming. I believe it would be helpful to get perspectives from the cultural community on programming in the space - street vendors (food/retail), public art and performers, architectural enhancements, garden/water feactures, connections to surrounding area - are all necessary. Chicago is also another GREAT city. And don't forget NY, Europe. .. . Keep in mind that not only are the cultural folks rich in creative knowledge, they have FUNDING to back it up. CDBG grants as well as Cultural Councils consider projects that use the arts as a way to improve public spaces. EH

11/13/06 philip harris said:

City Hall Plaza is grotesque, a grotesque scar through what was once a lively (yes, run down to a large degree) neighborhood within the downtown area of Boston. It's old buildings and winding streets and "diamomd in the rough" T station deserved RENOVATION, NOT COMPLETE DESTRUCTION. In short, City Hall Plaza is an urban desert inhabited by monstrous Brutalist Architectural nightmares, particularly the out-of-place, out-of-context pile of hideous concrete cubes better known as Boston City Hall. Yes, alanna prince, City Hall Plaza is not half as bad as people think it is, it is TEN TIMES WORSE THAN PEOPLE THINK IT IS!

12/21/06 Ellin Burnham said:

What I love about the City Hall building is its exterior's rich, textured look, which changes hour-by-hour with the changing light and shadows. Its shape is also interesting--and different from almost everything else in Boston.

For me, the plaza around City Hall is the problem, and several other people have made good suggestions.

I have often thought it would make a good modern art museum, with the plaza as a sculpture garden (yes with some trees, please).

I miss my home city Boston very much and whenever I do make it home, I always go by City Hall, to see how the light is playing on its facade.

Mayor Menino has just announced he wants to sell it to developers. I would just hate to see it go. Frankly, I've got a knot in my chest right now as I write this. I also believe we need to take more care with buildings in this age group. They are often endangered because the style seems outdated. We need to remember that if a building is to make it to its 200th birthday, it has to survive its first 50 years. It IS an iconic building and I hope the preservation people can save it - perhaps by finally helping to address the problems of the plaza around it.

12/21/06 philip harris said:

I am an an architectural ENGINEER, not an architect..there is a difference. That said, my follow up to previous comments that I have entered are as follows:

Upon the vast, desolate emptiness of the lifeless and useless plaza rests a structure that is so far removed from our current standards of "GREEN" buildings, and is concominantly extremely expensive to operate with the ever increasing cost of lighting and heating this gloomy relic of a "future past". Past the heinousness (Ok...my opinion...YOU might think it "beautiful") of its stark and unwelcoming facade is a dark, gloomy, cold and noisy network of confusing hallways....need I go on?.....bottom line: Menino's call to sell off City Hall Plaza is the best idea that this mayor has floated in years.

Though I am a bit too young to truly remember the old Scollay Square, I think it best to populate this desert once again with at least a few residential structures subsequent to the the razing of the current City Hall.

Finally, City Hall does not deserve Landmark Status, despite what some architectural "buffs" may think and/or want; the taxpayers of Boston should have a city hall that utilizes the best and most advanced methods of energy utilization/cost savings, and as well one of the most ancient building methods for doing so, namely the use of NATURAL LIGHTING!.

01/08/07 D. Jordan Berson said:

City Hall Plaza would be BEAUTIFUL with the element of water.... Some fountains, running streams through the concrete... the natural element of water, and yes... some landscaping would make ALL the difference. What a juxtaposition... the striking monumentality of the structures with the softness of water and plantlife. It is so GLARINGLY obvious to me that this would be an improvement... in fact, the plaza simply looks UNFINISHED to me without it.

02/23/07 philip harris said:

This will be my last post on the Boston City Hall Plaza and City Hall issue: Menino's proposal to sell the horrid building and desolate plaza surrounding it for development is FANTASTIC!!!!

The MINORITY FEW who seem to love the hunkering concrete bunker and the desolete barren and lifeless plaza surrounding it should pool all there financial assets together to purchase the wretched building and the stone desert to call their own. If you have the money to purchase 11 acres of PRIME REAL ESTATE in downtown Boston AND have the DEEP DEEP DEEP pockets to pay the yearly EXPENSIVE utility bills and maintenance costs to maintain this concrete nightmare better known as City Hall, then I SAY GOOD LUCK TO YOU and GO FOR IT!!! Otherwise, put up or shut up!

Menino may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, but on the issue of getting rid of City Hall and the Plaza, HE IS DEAD ON CORRECT. LONG LIVE THE RESTORATION OF OLD SCOLLAY SQUARE!!

02/27/07 Ricky Bobby said:

A misconception that it often made -esp. by those not familiar with the architecture of Boston, like the author of this piece- is that the Government Center plaza is NOT designed by Kallmann & McKinnell. It was actually designed by IM Pei. Please take the time to understand this parcel of land before you offer your advice of what to use this for. First realize this is infill land once part of the atlantic ocean. Second, it also has 2 subway lines crossing beneath with exits/entrances to this plaza. The cost to turn this "land" into a museum with running water and a forest of trees would be prohibitive on this site.

03/29/07 George Kelso said:

I just composed a coment on the Boston City hall Plaza. But it seems to have been lost in the sumittion pocess. Please contact me. George kelso, AIA 617.661.3013 georgekelso@yahoo.com

03/29/07 George Kelso said:

The following is the opening paragraph of some concerns I have about the perceptions of Boston City hall and Plaza. Why is it that some people find the monumental elegance and dignity of Boston City Hall so over-whelming that it's threatening? Could the real problem be that you are so afraid of the clarity and boldness of the buildings structural systems and the tremendous unfolding of a variety of spaces . . . that such an over-whelming spacial experience frightens you?

04/01/07 George Kelso said:

Concerning the Plaza, everybody knows that it is a banal, illogical and lifeless place. And the Plaza's main problem is a lack of "people places". Therefore, nobody can sit down, be still and spend enough time looking at things directly, properly, clearly. And as result, people can not really appreciate the tremendous architectural merits of Boston City Hall (particularly its’ spatial interaction with the Plaza). So, let's be careful to not let the irritations of the Plaza experience distort ones perception of Boston City Hall and as they say "through out the baby with the bath water." In addition, there is a political problem in Boston (the Athens of America) . . . that those lacking the right political connections are ignored, regardless of the merits of their design proposals. In the past, architectural competitions helped to solve that problem (hence, Boston City Hall) however, today it’s clear that even architectural competitions have become politicized. Perhaps that political problem is best expressed when (I wrote after in a Plaza re-design review session) in 1998 entitled “DESIGN and FRIENDS” . . . if you're the RIGHT person with the WRONG design that’s perfectly FINE (that’s poetry right?). But if you're the WRONG person with the RIGHT design . . . you might as well RESIGN! How else can one explain the contrasts of brightness and dullness in Boston's Government Center? I’d like to hear from you. George J. Kelso AIA, CNU and BSA urban-design committee of Boston City Hall Plaza 617. 661. 3013 georgekelso@yahoo.com

10/10/07 Charles Brackett said:

The entire concept of City Hall Plaza is fairly deeply flawed. First of all, it's pretty clear that, like Lincoln Center in NYC, CHP was built expressly as a rampart against North End, which at the time was still slummy. That's why the North End-facing side is a giant wall. This makes the building even more set off. The vibrancy of the North End and Fanueil Hall areas are abruptly and unnaturally stopped not only by the Big Dig (can we please cancel that project?) but also by G.C. itself. The building itself represents a city turning its back on its own history. As the cradle of American democracy withits ideas of open government, Boston erects a government building expressly designed to avoid penetration by outsiders. Like the Scottish Parliament, City Hall is designed not to yield its secrets, to appear impenetrable with no clear entrances and dark windows that reveal little. In my opinion the whole area should be levelled. I don't think any degree of construction and refitting can rebuild the place. It could be replaced, though, with a smaller city hall building, with clear entrances in perhaps a neo-classical style of the Republican variety (not triumphal 'Imperial Roman' architecture). Rather than put city hall bureaucracy into one or two buildings, why not build several smaller, accessible buildings, intermixed with retail space, eateries and pocket parks and maybe a footbridge over the Big Dig?

11/16/08 Ted Kochanski said:

City Hall & Plaza -- a brutal comentary on Boston Since City Hall has now made the #1 position in the list of 10 ugliest buildings in the world - -we can't tear it down -- No we should blow it up! As for the Plaza -- well there was an excellent opportunity to reconnect Hanover Street that now crosses the former Central Artery no-mans land Unfortunately, the powers that be -- chose not to take the opportunity. Instead we got some weird benches and pseudo-arcade along Cambridge Street. The T at one time had a plan to rebuild the underground Government Center station -- replacing the concrete bunker entrance with something open and glassy -- given the T's current state of lack of money -- not sure if that is still in the plans. There was a proposal to build a hotel on a corner of the plaza -- but that was nixed by the Federal bureaucrats in the JFK Building's low rise who didn't want people looking down on them. Best solution -- sell the entirety (City Hall and Plaza) to a private developer and let a new team take a crack at producing something everyone will at least find tolerable. Westy

03/20/09 A Kowalski said:

To quote this article: "Bleak, expansive, and shapeless, it has an exceedingly poor image in a city where image should be paramount. It conveys nothing in the way of information about Boston, its history, or its sense of place." RESPONSE - Or perhaps it's an expanse of neutral and calm space, like looking out onto the ocean, the space makes you feel humble. It's an awesome experience, and the City Hall building is quite impressive. This isn't without it's shortcomings and a green space would be nice. But I'd like to express my dissatisfaction with Project for Public Spaces, which simply doesn't make any effort to appreciate modernism. Toronto's Nathan Philips Square wasn't praised, despite being an innovative and distinctive place. Open your mind: a great public space doesn't have to look like a 400 year European market square. There are other experiences which can be satisfactory.