Dedicated to cataloguing and preserving Modern Architecture in the Western suburbs of Boston.
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Center Pumping Station
Framingham, MA, 1966 As one of 43 sewer pumping stations in the city, this small yellow brick building off of Route 9 plays an important role in keeping Framingham healthy and clean. At these sites throughout the city sewage is collected and actively pumped to higher ground so it can flow by gravity to the…
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Cinema I, II, III, & IV
Framingham, MA, 1951 by Benjamin Schlanger Like the rest of Shoppers’ World, the construction of General Cinema’s Framingham Cinema was heralded as an achievement in its field. Designed by noted theater architect Ben Schlanger, the one seat theater boasted over 1,400 staggered seats for a better view of its 30 foot long frameless screen. As…
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Jordan Marsh Department Store
Framingham, MA, 1951 by George L. Ely No modern building looms larger in the memories of Metro West than the original Shoppers’ World. The shadow it casts over not just Massachusetts but the national development scene is too large to be contained in only one building. So we wanted to take a deep dive into…
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Shoppers’ World
Framingham, MA, 1951 by Ketchum, Giná & Sharp Tell anyone in Massachusetts you live in Natick or Framingham and they’ll inevitably bring up the malls. Since the 1950s, the stretch between the two towns known as the Golden Triangle has attracted visitors from across the Commonwealth and beyond in search of convenience and comfort while…
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Paul F Barbieri Jr. Middle School
Framingham, MA 1973 by Drummey, Rosane, and Anderson In the early 1970s, Framingham was faced with a serious problem. Since World War II, the town had almost tripled in population and town facilities were struggling to keep up. To accommodate their growing population, the town authorized the construction of three new school buildings – Barbieri,…
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Abele Residence
Framingham, MA, 1941, by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer Located on the shores of Framingham Reservoir 1, the Abele House sits as a rich representation of early 20th century modern home design. The building is sited to maximize views of the water with expansive windows facing south and west. Keen eyed viewers may recognize elements…
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The Rivers Country Day School
Weston, MA, 1960-1965 by Huygens and Chapman While vacationing through Europe in 1956, the headmaster of the Rivers School George Blackwell and his wife Ethel had a chance encounter with a young Remmert Huygens on his way to work in Marcel Breuer’s office in New York City. George had recently overseen the purchase of a…
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Henry Whittemore Library
Framingham, MA 1963-1969 by Desmond and Lord In the 1960s, Framingham State saw unprecedented growth for what had begun as the first of the commonwealth’s public schools for teachers in 1839. The beginning of the decade saw the introduction of liberal arts degrees and masters programs as the school was renamed from Framingham State Teachers…
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Framingham Public Library
Framingham, MA, 1974-1979 by Huygens and tappé In the 1960s, Framingham realized its library system had a problem. Since its humble beginnings with the Edgell Public Library (now the Framingham History Center) built in 1876, the system had grown into a number of branch libraries scattered throughout the city with no unifying central location for…
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Natick Redevelopment Authority plan for Natick Center
Natick, MA, 1974 by CBT Architects Post World War II, the United States embraced a now controversial strategy known as Urban Renewal to forcibly redevelop large swathes of cities and towns that the government deemed unsavory or underutilized. The result is that many of our county’s largest and most unified modernist buildings sit on a…