{"nrhp_refnum":"75000301","name":"Symphony and Horticultural Halls","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Massachusetts and Huntington Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.34270808700006,"lon":-71.08530030499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture","Engineering","Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two neighboring Renaissance Revival buildings at Massachusetts and Huntington Avenues in Boston's Fenway area: Symphony Hall (built 1900, McKim, Mead & White) and Horticultural Hall (built 1901, Wheelwright & Haven).","why_significant":"The halls house two major Boston institutions and are each of architectural, social and cultural importance. Symphony Hall resulted from a collaboration between architect Charles McKim and physicist Wallace Clement Sabine, producing a music hall with rationally planned acoustics. Horticultural Hall was designed to harmonize with its neighbor in height, scale, style and material, and carries horticultural ornament.","narrative":"Symphony Hall and Horticultural Hall face each other across Massachusetts Avenue in Boston's Fenway, built in 1900 and 1901 as the cultural district extended from the filled Back Bay toward Huntington Avenue. Symphony Hall, designed by McKim, Mead & White, is a red-brick Renaissance Revival building with a limestone Ionic portico and a basilican plan. Its auditorium is encased in two layers of construction to exclude traffic noise. Henry Lee Higginson commissioned it as a new home for the Boston Symphony, and physicist Wallace Clement Sabine supplied the acoustical planning, which made it the first music hall with rationally pre-planned acoustics. Horticultural Hall, by Wheelwright & Haven, was built for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. It is laid in Flemish bond with Bedford limestone trim, giant pilasters, iron balconies and a frieze of fruit and flowers. The architects shaped it to harmonize with Symphony Hall. Together the buildings reflect the growth of Boston's institutions along Huntington Avenue.","period_of_significance":"1900-1901","architect_builder":"McKim, Mead & White; Wheelwright & Haven","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition, unaltered and on its original site; used for entertainment, educational and museum purposes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.568891-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/7969/63796929/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/75000301.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000301/755909e35d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000301/755909e35d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Symphony_Hall,_Boston_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Symphony_Hall,_Boston_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796929","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_and_Horticultural_Halls","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7661647"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/symphony-and-horticultural-halls-75000301/"}