West Street District

West Street District is a group of early 20th-century commercial buildings in Boston's downtown theatre area. It includes the Lawrence Buildings at 148-9 and 150 Tremont Street, dated in the bibliography to 1903, the Schrafft's building at 16-24 West Street, and the Fabyan Building at 26-32 West Street. The buildings vary in style, with Commercial Style, Renaissance Revival and Classical Revival all represented, but they share a consistent condition: the survey describes them as well-maintained, privately owned and in commercial use. The district was recorded in 1979 as part of a survey of historic resources in the Boston theatre area. That larger group of properties is considered significant for the quality of its architecture, for its association with the city's music industry, especially piano manufacturing, and for the growth of theatres and movie houses. Its buildings reached significance between about 1890 and the 1930s, and West Street contributes examples of the commercial architecture of that period.