Ames Building
| Ames Building | |
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_-_SA06922.JPG) |
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| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 1 Court Street, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°21′32″N 71°03′28″W / 42.35890°N 71.05786°WCoordinates: 42°21′32″N 71°03′28″W / 42.35890°N 71.05786°W |
| Completed | 1889 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 13 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge |
| Developer | Cleveland Quarries |
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Ames Building
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| NRHP Reference#: | 74000382[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | April 26, 1974 |
The Ames Building is a skyscraper located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes ranked as the tallest building in Boston from its completion in 1893 until 1915, when the Custom House Tower was built. However, the building was never the tallest structure in Boston. The steeple of the Church of the Covenant, completed in 1867, was much taller than the Ames Building. Nevertheless, it is considered to be Boston's first skyscraper.
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[edit] History
Located at 1 Court Street and Washington Mall in downtown Boston, the Ames Building was designed by the architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in Richardsonian Romanesque and paid for by Frederick L. Ames. It is the second tallest masonry load bearing-wall structure in the world, exceeded only by the Monadnock Building in Chicago, completed that same year.[2] It is thirteen stories high with a three-story granite base and sandstone and brick walls.[3] The sandstone is from the Berea formation in Ohio and was supplied by Cleveland Quarries Company. Construction was completed in 1889, but interior work was not completed for occupancy until 1893. It became the corporate headquarters for the Ames families' agricultural tool company.[4]
The Ames Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 26 May 1974.[5]
[edit] Renovations
After being unoccupied for eight years, the building was purchased in April 2007 by Normandy Real Estate Partners for $17.7 million. In conjunction with Morgans Hotel Group, the developers renovated the building for $40 million, converting it into a 114 room luxury hotel with an upscale restaurant.[6] Renovations to the building were performed by Tishman Construction Corporation of New York based on a design by Cambridge Seven Associates and with oversight provided by Walsh Co. LLC of Morristown, New Jersey.[7] The hotel, called the Ames Hotel, opened in November 2009 together with the Woodward restaurant and bar.[4][8]
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ Emporis.comThe Ames Building. Emporis Buildings.
- ^ "Ames Building"[dead link]. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service, Washington, D.C.
- ^ a b "Morgans Hotel Group Announces the Opening of Ames, the Latest Addition to Its Collection of Originals" Business Wire 19 November 2009, accessed via Lexis/Nexis, a subscription service
- ^ "Database" National Register of Historic Places[dead link] National Park Service, Washington, D.C.
- ^ Angel Jennings (2008-07-17). "Ames Building set to become boutique hotel". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/06/17/ames_building_set_to_become_boutique_hotel/. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ Thomas C. Palmer Jr. (2007-07-06). "Historic tower gets update: $40m renovation to turn Ames Building into boutique hotel". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/07/06/historic_tower_gets_update/. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ "Hotel Noshing News". Zagat.com. October 16, 2009. http://www.zagat.com/Blog/Detail.aspx?SNP=NB&SCID=34&BLGID=24327.
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