Filene's Department Store

Filene's Department Store
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates:	42°21′19.78″N 71°3′36.82″W / 42.3554944°N 71.0602278°W / 42.3554944; -71.0602278Coordinates: 42°21′19.78″N 71°3′36.82″W / 42.3554944°N 71.0602278°W / 42.3554944; -71.0602278
Built:	1911
Architect:	Daniel H. Burnham & Co.
Architectural style:	Beaux Arts
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	86001909 [1]
Added to NRHP:	July 24, 1986

Filene's Department Store is a historic department store building at 426 Washington Street in Downtown Crossing, Boston, Massachusetts that was home to the main Filene's store.

History

The building was completed in 1912 as a new flagship location for William Filene and Sons' department store, better known as Filene's. By 1929 Filene’s expanded the flagship building, converting the whole block around Washington, Summer, Hawley and Franklin streets into one department store.^[2] This was the last major project by legendary Chicago architect Daniel Burnham and only work in Boston. His work is widley regarded as one of the best examples of Beaux Arts architecture in Boston.

Filene's in an early 20th century postcard

In 1986, the Filene's Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2006, Filene's stores were merged with Macy's phasing out the Filene's name. In a normal store merger, the old stores are converted into the new stores. But this was a problem in Boston. The Filene's Building was located across the street from another Macy's store. When Filene's did close, the Boston Landmark Commission unanimously voted to protect two of the historic buildings that housed Filene's in Boston. The two oldest buildings were protected including the main 1912 Filene's store building and a 1905 former glassware and china seller's building on the opposite corner.^[3] The two newer buildings, built in 1951 and 1973 were not protected and demolished in 2008.

After the store closed, the building was put up for sale and was eventually bought by Vornado Realty Trust of New York. Vornado teamed up with Gale International for a $700 million redevelopment of the Filene's site. The project contains a 39-story tower including a 280-room hotel, 125-seat restaurant, 475,000 square feet (44,100 m²) of office space, 166 residential condos, 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²) of retail space, and an adjacent park.^[4] Although the Filene’s Building is protected by the Landmark Commission, it only protected the facade of the buildings. This allowed the developers of the site to rip out the building's interior, leaving the exterior to stand on its own. However, when the project ran out of money, the site was left completely gutted and remains so to this day.^{[citation needed]}

Mayor Menino has put pressure on the company that owns the property to develop the site, come up with a new development plan, or to sell the property to a new developer.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Boston

External links

• Entry on Emporis
• Skyscraperpage.com forum on One Franklin Street

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ http://www.dshistory.com/stores/filenes_boston/ Remembering Great American Department Stores
3. ^ http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2006/05/10/city_makes_filenes_site_a_landmark/ City makes Filene's site a landmark Two of 4 buildings must be preserved
4. ^ "City OK's redevelopment of historic Filene's block". The Boston Globe. August 18, 2007. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/08/18/city_oks_redevelopment_of_historic_filenes_block/.