Tag: modernism
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47 Church St, 1 Abbott St, & 34 Central St
Wellesley, MA, 1961, by Mary Ellen (Marilyn) Fraser, AIA In many ways, Wellesley Square is a prototypical New England downtown -a tight street lined with shoppers and restaurants and sprinkled with churches and municipal hubs. Most of the town’s modern and contemporary architecture has been carefully locked behind the gates of Wellesley College. But tucked…
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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…
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Metrowest Place
Framingham, MA, 1969 by Fletcher Thompson Spend any amount of time admiring modern architecture and you’re sure to notice that many iconic designs are coated in the iconic orange of the truck rental company UHaul. The company prides itself on buying underutilized, often oversized buildings and converting them into facilities for storage or truck pickup.…
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RCA ‘Tower Building’
Marlborough, MA 1970, by Vincent Kling In a world dominated by the technology hub of Silicon Valley, it can be difficult to remember just how influential the Massachusetts tech scene was throughout the 20th century. In the 50s and 60s, the Route 128 highway encircling Boston saw the development of massive technology companies which themselves…
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Natick Village Mall and Hilton Inn
Natick, MA, 1979, by Richard L. Bowen and Associates When construction began on this combination strip mall and hotel along Route 9, the small factory town of Natick was beginning to see some big changes. While the site was still filled with the scent of fresh bread from the nearby Wonderbread Factory, on its other…
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The Ewen Knight Corporation Headquarters
Natick, MA, 1960, By Samuel Glaser The Ewen Knight Corporation was founded in 1952 to develop radio technology for Harvard University’s Oak Ridge Observatory in Harvard, Massachusetts and would go on to become a major radio equipment distributor for observatories including the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The building was designed by noted Architect Samuel Glaser…
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Wellesley Housing Authority
Wellesley, MA, 1951, Hugh Stubbins Jr. For this week we’re looking at Hugh Stubbins’ veterans housing for the town of Wellesley. After World War II, cities and towns were rapidly building new, affordable homes for the returning GIs. Stubbins’ design for Wellesley focused on bringing low density living to the townhouse typology. Apartments were built…
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Joseph P. Keefe Regional Technical School
Framingham, MA, 1973, Ellerbe Associates The Joseph P. Keefe Technical School was designed for the South Middlesex Regional Vocational School district for students from of Framingham, Natick, Holliston, Hopkinton, and Ashland looking for an alternative to the traditional high school experience. The vocational model allows students to receive hands on training in specialized shops such…
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Sherborn Library
Sherborn, MA, 1971, James A.S. Walker, A.I.A. The Sherborn Library is a modernist gem sitting on a small hill overlooking the Town Hall and police station creating a municipal complex along the town’s tree lined Main Street. The building blends the traditional New England one room library typology with modern flair, breaking the pitched roof…
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Wellesley Office Park Building No. 4
Wellesley, MA, 1970, Pietro Belluschi and Jung/Brannen Associates Built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Wellesley Office Park has a uniquely singular vision for most of its buildings. Most of the original buildings share the same palette of exposed steel, orange brick and tiles, and mirrored glass windows and landscape elements such as…