{"nrhp_refnum":"80000450","name":"Boylston Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2-22 Boylston St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.35193688800007,"lon":-71.06302323799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-12-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story Nova Scotia sandstone commercial building at 2-22 Boylston Street and 651-657 Washington Street in Boston, built in 1887 to designs by architect Carl Fehmer and constructed by Woodbury & Leighton.","why_significant":"The building is argued to be a distinguished design by a notable Boston architect and an important example of the shift from load-bearing masonry to the skeleton-framed commercial style pioneered by the Chicago School. It is also an important urban design element on a prominent corner. Historically, it replaced Bulfinch's Boylston Market, which occupied the site from 1810.","narrative":"Completed in 1887, this six-story sandstone commercial block stands freestanding on a prominent corner at Boylston and Washington Streets in Boston. Architect Carl Fehmer, a German-born designer who began practice in Boston in 1870, combined Renaissance and Romanesque detailing with features of the emerging Chicago commercial style. Paired round-arched windows mark the second floor, two-story arches rise through the fourth and fifth floors, and a plain arcade tops the building. Load-bearing walls on the alley side show a cautious approach to new construction methods. The building replaced Bulfinch's 1810 Boylston Market on the same site and was built for the Boylston Market Association, with retail space on the ground floor and offices or wholesale space above. Around 1900 it housed many wholesale clothing dealers. It was listed for its architectural quality, its place in the shift toward skeleton-framed construction, and its role in the city streetscape and commercial history. Today the upper floors are vacant.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect Carl Fehmer; builder Woodbury & Leighton","architectural_style":"Proto-Commercial Style with Renaissance and Romanesque detailing","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied on the ground floor by adult entertainment and other uses and vacant above; described as a clear candidate for adaptive re-use. Designated a Boston City Landmark in 1977.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.589706-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/53/7927/63792753/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000450.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000450/f0ec9a2a53-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000450/f0ec9a2a53-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BoylstonBldg.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BoylstonBldg.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792753","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boylston_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4952548"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/boylston-building-80000450/"}