Pemberton Square (Boston)
Encyclopedia
Pemberton Square in the Government Center area of Boston
, Massachusetts
, was developed by P.T. Jackson
in 1835 as an architecturally uniform mixed-use enclave surrounding a small park. In the mid-19th century both private residences and businesses dwelt there. The construction in 1885 of the massive John Adams Courthouse
changed the scale and character of the square, as did the Center Plaza building in the 1960s.
and Somerset Street was developed as Phillips Place, "laid out on the estates late of the heirs of Messrs. [Jonathan] Phillips, [Gardiner] Greene
, and [James] Lloyd." "After Greene's death in 1832, Patrick Tracy Jackson ... purchased the property. Jackson ... cut down the top of Pemberton Hill in order to create a desirable residential area halfway down the slope, at the point where the mansion had stood. This massive grading operation took only 5 months and was completed in October of 1835." The fill was used reclaim the North Cove, which became the Bullfinch Triangle neighborhood of streets.
"Jackson sponsored a design competition for developing his property. ... Alexander Wadsworth, a local civil engineer and surveyor and one of 47 entrants, won the $500 prize." "In 1836, Jackson commissioned George Minot Dexter (1802-1872) to design the houses for Pemberton Square and all the accompanying ironwork (stair railings, fences for the small front yards, and the fence with lampposts for the central garden). ... The buildings would be consistent in style and ornamentation."
In 1838 the city named the site "Pemberton Square." Somewhat confusedly, the area later known as Scollay Square
was first called "Pemberton Square" in February 1838; the city changed the name to "Scollay Square" in June 1838, to accommodate the newly developed area across the street on Pemberton Hill. The two squares sat very near one another, with Pemberton set back from Scollay, and accessed by a short connecting street.
"The dwellings built in it were fine, indeed elegant for their time, and for many years it was the residence of some of the most substantial citizens. ... Architects, lawyers, and other professional men were among the first to establish their offices in it; then other business worked in, and a number of city and state offices, notably the headquarters of the board of police commissioners
." "In the middle of the square [was] an enclosed green, with a few trees, which ... was a pleasant bit of nature for the eye of the city man to rest upon." During the city's Water Celebration in 1848, "the cavalcade
[passed] up Park, down Beacon and Somerset Street, to Pemberton Square."
"In 1885 the square was selected as the site for a new court house, the building of which had been agitated for years." "Houses on the west side ... were razed in 1885 to make way for the Suffolk County Courthouse. ... The garden was also eliminated at that time" By 1895, "some of the old swell-front houses remain, used as public and law offices."
Since the 1960s, Pemberton Square has become part of the complex of overscale buildings known as Government Center. "A few of the square's original dwellings on the east side survived until the autumn of 1969, when they, along with 2 more recent office buildings, were demolished and replaced by Center Plaza, a very long office building. The form of Center Plaza mirrores the entire crescent-shaped span of the original houses on the east side of the square, but the square itself no longer exists."
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, was developed by P.T. Jackson
Patrick Tracy Jackson
Patrick Tracy Jackson was a United States manufacturer, one of the founders of the Boston Manufacturing Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, and later a founder of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company whose developments formed the nucleus of Lowell, Massachusetts.-Biography:He was born in...
in 1835 as an architecturally uniform mixed-use enclave surrounding a small park. In the mid-19th century both private residences and businesses dwelt there. The construction in 1885 of the massive John Adams Courthouse
Suffolk County Courthouse
The Suffolk County Courthouse, also known as the "John Adams Courthouse", is a historic courthouse building on Pemberton Square in Boston, Massachusetts that is home to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court....
changed the scale and character of the square, as did the Center Plaza building in the 1960s.
1835-1885
In the mid-1830s land on Cotton Hill (also called Pemberton Hill) between Tremont StreetTremont Street
Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts.-Etymology:The name is a variation of one of the original appellations of the city, "Trimountaine," a reference to a hill that formerly had three peaks. Beacon Hill, with its single peak, is all that remains of the Trimountain...
and Somerset Street was developed as Phillips Place, "laid out on the estates late of the heirs of Messrs. [Jonathan] Phillips, [Gardiner] Greene
Gardiner Greene
Gardiner Greene was a merchant from Boston, Massachusetts who conducted business in Demerara in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Socially prominent in the town of Boston, he owned a house, greenhouse, and garden filled with fruit trees and peacocks on Cotton Hill, opposite Scollay Square...
, and [James] Lloyd." "After Greene's death in 1832, Patrick Tracy Jackson ... purchased the property. Jackson ... cut down the top of Pemberton Hill in order to create a desirable residential area halfway down the slope, at the point where the mansion had stood. This massive grading operation took only 5 months and was completed in October of 1835." The fill was used reclaim the North Cove, which became the Bullfinch Triangle neighborhood of streets.
"Jackson sponsored a design competition for developing his property. ... Alexander Wadsworth, a local civil engineer and surveyor and one of 47 entrants, won the $500 prize." "In 1836, Jackson commissioned George Minot Dexter (1802-1872) to design the houses for Pemberton Square and all the accompanying ironwork (stair railings, fences for the small front yards, and the fence with lampposts for the central garden). ... The buildings would be consistent in style and ornamentation."
In 1838 the city named the site "Pemberton Square." Somewhat confusedly, the area later known as Scollay Square
Scollay Square
Scollay Square was a vibrant city square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was named for William Scollay, a prominent local developer and militia officer who bought a landmark four-story merchant building at the intersection of Cambridge and Court Streets in 1795...
was first called "Pemberton Square" in February 1838; the city changed the name to "Scollay Square" in June 1838, to accommodate the newly developed area across the street on Pemberton Hill. The two squares sat very near one another, with Pemberton set back from Scollay, and accessed by a short connecting street.
"The dwellings built in it were fine, indeed elegant for their time, and for many years it was the residence of some of the most substantial citizens. ... Architects, lawyers, and other professional men were among the first to establish their offices in it; then other business worked in, and a number of city and state offices, notably the headquarters of the board of police commissioners
Boston Police Department
The Boston Police Department , created in 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest police departments in the United States...
." "In the middle of the square [was] an enclosed green, with a few trees, which ... was a pleasant bit of nature for the eye of the city man to rest upon." During the city's Water Celebration in 1848, "the cavalcade
Cavalcade
Cavalcade may refer to:*Cavalcade, a horseback procession, parade, or mass trail ride*A huge parade*A huge procession*Suzuki GV1400 Cavalcade, a Suzuki luxury touring motorcycle available from 1985 to 1988 in North America...
[passed] up Park, down Beacon and Somerset Street, to Pemberton Square."
1885-present
Since the 1960s, Pemberton Square has become part of the complex of overscale buildings known as Government Center. "A few of the square's original dwellings on the east side survived until the autumn of 1969, when they, along with 2 more recent office buildings, were demolished and replaced by Center Plaza, a very long office building. The form of Center Plaza mirrores the entire crescent-shaped span of the original houses on the east side of the square, but the square itself no longer exists."
Residents
Notable residents of Pemberton Square in the 19th century included:- American Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsThe American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
- American Colonization SocietyAmerican Colonization SocietyThe American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
- American Social Science AssociationAmerican Social Science AssociationIn 1865, at Boston, Massachusetts, a society for the study of social questions was organized and given the name American Social Science Association. The group grew to where its membership totaled about 1,000 persons. About 30 corresponding members were located in Europe...
- Boston Conservatory of Elocution, Oratory, and Dramatic Art, later Emerson CollegeEmerson CollegeEmerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
- Boston Police DepartmentBoston Police DepartmentThe Boston Police Department , created in 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest police departments in the United States...
- Boston School for Deaf-Mutes, later the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of HearingHorace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of HearingThe Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is the oldest public day school for the Deaf and hard of hearing in the United States . Located in Allston, Massachusetts, the Horace Mann School is a Boston Public School, and has a rich history of providing quality education for Deaf and...
- Boston Society of ArchitectsBoston Society of ArchitectsOne of the oldest and largest chapters of the AIA, the Boston Society of Architects is a nonprofit membership organization committed to architecture, design and the built environment .-History:...
- Boston UniversityBoston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
's "executive building, Jacob Sleeper Hall" - Cummings and SearsCummings and SearsCummings and Sears was an architecture firm in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts, established by Charles Amos Cummings and Willard T...
, architects - Forest Hills CemeteryForest Hills CemeteryForest Hills Cemetery is a historic cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was designed in 1848.-Overview:...
office - Gridley James Fox BryantGridley James Fox BryantGridley James Fox Bryant was a famous 19th century Boston architect and builder. His work was seen in custom houses, government buildings, churches, schoolhouses, and private residences across the United States.Bryant was born to Marcia Winship Fox and Gridley Bryant, noted railway pioneer...
and Louis P. Rogers, architects - Edward Clarke CabotEdward Clarke CabotEdward Clarke Cabot was an American architect and artist.-Early life:Cabot's father was Samuel Cabot Jr., a shipping businessman. His mother was Eliza Perkins Cabot. He had two siblings: Dr. Samuel Cabot III , an eminent surgeon, and Walter Channing Cabot Edward Clarke Cabot (August 17, 1818...
, architect - George Barrell EmersonGeorge Barrell EmersonGeorge Barrell Emerson was an American educator and pioneer of women's education.-Biography:He was born in Kennebunk, Maine. He graduated from Harvard College in 1817, and soon after took charge of an academy in Lancaster, Massachusetts...
- Lee & Follen, landscape architects (Francis L. Lee and Charles Follen)
- Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to ChildrenMassachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to ChildrenMassachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a non-governmental charitable organization with offices in Boston and throughout Massachusetts which seeks to strengthen families and prevent child abuse through essential child welfare and mental health treatment and effective...
- Mount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
office - John PlumbeJohn PlumbeJohn Plumbe, Jr. was an entrepreneurial photographer, gallerist, publisher, and an early advocate of an American transcontinental railroad in the mid-19th century. He established a franchise of photography studios in the 1840s in the U.S., with additional branches in Paris and Liverpool...
, daguerreotypist - Henry Vaughan (architect)Henry Vaughan (Architect)Henry Vaughan , a prolific and talented church architect, came to America to bring the English Gothic style to the American branch of the Anglican Communion . He was an apprentice under George Frederick Bodley and went on to great success popularizing the Gothic Revival style.-Life:Vaughan was...
- WareWilliam Robert WareWilliam Robert Ware , born in Cambridge, Massachusetts into a family of the Unitarian clergy, was an American architect, author, and founder of two important American architectural schools....
& Van BruntHenry Van BruntHenry Van Brunt FAIA was a 19th-century American architect and architectural writer.-Life and work:Born in Boston in 1832, Van Brunt attended Boston Latin School, and graduated from Harvard College in 1854...
, architects
See also
- Gardiner GreeneGardiner GreeneGardiner Greene was a merchant from Boston, Massachusetts who conducted business in Demerara in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Socially prominent in the town of Boston, he owned a house, greenhouse, and garden filled with fruit trees and peacocks on Cotton Hill, opposite Scollay Square...
, former owner of land on Pemberton's Hill, later developed as Pemberton Square - Massachusetts Appeals CourtMassachusetts Appeals CourtThe Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction...
, housed in Suffolk County Courthouse - Massachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtThe Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
, housed in Suffolk County Courthouse - Social Law LibrarySocial Law LibraryThe Social Law Library, founded in 1804, is one of the oldest law libraries in the United States. It is located in the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, Massachusetts, the same building which houses the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals...
, housed in Suffolk County Courthouse - Suffolk County CourthouseSuffolk County CourthouseThe Suffolk County Courthouse, also known as the "John Adams Courthouse", is a historic courthouse building on Pemberton Square in Boston, Massachusetts that is home to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court....
, built 1893
Further reading
- "Cotton Hill" 1855, in City of Boston. 5th report of the record commissioners, rev. ed. 1880.
External links
- Flickr. Photo of old police headquarters, Pemberton Sq., 19th c.
- MIT on Flickr. Photo of Scollay Square, looking down from Pemberton Square, 1956.
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mit-libraries/3420798759/
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mit-libraries/3420849851/
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mit-libraries/3421565500/
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mit-libraries/3420850057/
- Flickr. Photo, 2006
- Flickr. Photo of Center Plaza, at former site of Pemberton Sq., 2007
- Flickr. Photo, 2009