Tag: massachusetts
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Wellesley Green Condominiums
Wellesley, MA, 1970-72 by Samuel Glaser Associates Designed as a development for the Spaulding and Slye Corporation, these four story condominium buildings sit along the serene Fuller Brook Park in Wellesley. To fit in with this natural setting, architect Samuel Glaser kept the buildings dense and separate, fitting 170 units into just 25% of the…
-
Carling Brewery/Prime Computer Headquarters
Natick, MA 1954, by Canadian Breweries, Engineering Division, renovated 1982 by Beckstoffer, Hunter & Associates When Carling Brewery opened on the shores of Lake Cochituate, it was hailed as “America’s Most Modern Brewery. The plant employed 250 union employees to create their signature Black Label beer using water from the nearby lake. After twenty years…