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While Boston's Government Center is heralded as an important civic site, serving as the location of City Hall, courthouses, and state and federal office buildings, its architecture leaves much to be desired. Large expanses of brick and concrete comprise the structures and public spaces of the area, the oft-decried trademarks of Brutalism reign supreme, and the bunker-like City Hall is imposing and intimidating, generally the opposite image that a municipal government wants to convey to its citizens.
Adding to the sting is what the Government Center replaced. Scollay Square was a vibrant centre for commerce peppered by rich Victorian architecture. But the aging district, in the eyes of City officials, became a hive for lower-income residents and failing businesses. In a move towards gentrification, the City began mulling plans to redevelop the area in the 1950s. In the end, over 1,000 buildings in the neighbourhood were demolished and 20,000 residents were displaced.
Construction of the Government Center then commenced. The image above, circa 1964, shows a number of the now-fundamental civic complexes under construction. Being assembled in the background, the 22-storey International Style highrise at 100 Cambridge Street was initially named after former Massachusetts governor and Senator Leverett Saltonstall in 1969. When it shuttered in 1999 for renovations, it housed state offices. Today, the complex includes a five-storey wraparound commercial structure, while the main tower now contains a mix of residential and commercial space.
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Federal Building is the most prominent building under construction in the image. The 26-storey tower composed of two offset vertical slabs is attached to a low-rise building of four storeys. The complex is adjacent to City Hall Plaza, colloquially called "the brick desert" for its vast brick grounds and walls. The Kallmann McKinnel Woods-designed City Hall is almost universally reviled for its stark Brutalist aesthetic. Construction of the building was just starting in 1964, and took four years to complete.
The only constant in the historic photo and the site's current state is the highrise Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston, which houses the Massachusetts Superior Court. In front of this building is the crescent-shaped 720,000-square-foot Center Plaza, which has been approved for a $25 million renovation.
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