credit: Chris Sardelli
caption: This façade of 20 Somerset Street, facing the Garden of Peace, is one of two recommended for landmark status by the staff of the Boston Landmarks Commission.

When news spread last week of the Boston Landmark Commission staff’s recommendation to give parts of the former Metropolitan District Commission headquarters, many who oppose Suffolk University’s plan to demolish and replace it with a 31-story dormitory breathed a sigh of relief.

But, they need to hold their breath a lot longer. It’s not over yet.

There are still three more steps in the process before such designation would become a reality, and, if it does, it is uncertain as to how it would affect Suffolk’s plans.

James Hunt, chief of Environmental and Energy Services for the city of Boston, said before the designation becomes official, members of the Boston Landmark Commission must hold a formal public hearing on July 11. But it won’t make its decision to accept or amend the report until its next meeting. The next step is getting approval by the mayor, after which the Boston City Council will have the last word as to whether landmarking is a go.

The building was deemed significant because of its main tenant, the Metropolitan District Commission. Established in 1919, it represented the merger of what were originally three of the country’s pioneering regional agencies: the Metropolitan Sewerage Board, the Metropolitan Water Board and the Metropolitan Park Commission. Individually these agencies were among the first in the nation to implement regional management of shared resources and served as national and international models for regional planning. The work begun by the individual agencies and moved forward by the MDC contributed to the cultural, economic and social history of the city and the commonwealth.

The commission staff also noted a second significant element of the building, its association with its designers, a prominent Boston-based architectural firm whose work is represented throughout the Commonwealth.

The report includes standards and criteria that set guidelines for reviewing changes to the building’s exterior, if landmarked. At the least, the recommendations state that the eastern façade fronting Somerset Street and the northern façade facing the adjacent Garden of Peace have more architectural embellishment than the other two, and thus must be preserved.

It is unclear as to how that will impact Suffolk’s plans. State Representative Marty Walz said, “The Landmark Commission’s decision clearly shows there is historic value to the building. If approved, Suffolk must modify plans rather than tear it down. Suffolk will have to go back to the drawing board.”

But at a meeting Wednesday night Suffolk University officials told members of Mayor Menino’s Suffolk task force that they are not rethinking the design of the proposed building.

Walz responded by telling Vice President for Government and Community Affairs John Nucci that she was “startled” to hear him say that, in light of the language of the report.

But Nucci continued. “It is our understanding that the commission recognizes that a portion of the MDC building, but not the entire building, is worthy of consideration for preservation. That comes as no surprise. We believe that we can work with the commission to find a way to satisfy their interests and move the project forward.”

Once a building is designated a landmark, any proposed changes to the physical character of the exterior would require design review and approval by the Landmarks Commission, Hunt said. If Suffolk proposed, for example, to add floors on top of the building or add a tower beyond the footprint, such a proposal would have to be reviewed by the commission for its consistency with the standards and criteria established during the designation process.

Robert Whitney, who chairs the Mayor’s Task Force on the proposed dormitory, said, “The staff report gives us another tool, that is seeing how the Landmark Commission is looking at this structure. It allows us to look at our process as the commission looks at their own.”

If you own one of the 12,000 historic properties on Beacon Hill, Sally Zimmerman of Historic New England can help you protect your house while showcasing its best features. Zimmerman, a preservation specialist with Historic New England, is helping the society launch its Historic Homeowner membership program, a service that answers questions about how to maintain or conserve old houses.

“What I find exciting about my work is the opportunity to help people come to know more about their houses, what makes those houses special and worth preserving, and, I hope, to help them come to love their old houses even more,” Zimmerman said. Based in Waltham, Zimmerman consults with homeowners across New England on how to make construction decisions and choose paint colors.

Owners of historic homes often have questions about making alterations or repairs to their homes without damaging the buildings’ integrity, Zimmerman said. Membership to the Historic Homeowner program includes on-line consultations, on-line and phone access to staff for technical assistance requests, electronic newsletters on home maintenance and invitations to members-only workshops and events.

Historic properties include residences, museums and other buildings completed prior to December 1955, according to the Boston Landmarks Commission. The commission did not have figures available for the number of historic residences on Beacon Hill. Types of homes include First Period cottages, Federal farmhouses, Italianate row houses, and Craftsman bungalows.

Zimmerman joined Historic New England in March after spending several years with the Cambridge Historical Commission and the Massachusetts and Connecticut Historical commissions.

Annual dues for the Historic Homeowner program are $200. However, from now through the end of year, inaugural membership is $100 in exchange for feedback on categories of interest. Those interested in joining may call 617-227-3956, ext. 273.

The Storrow Drive tunnel project may uproot a Boston tradition as serious as Fenway Park or Boston cream pie—the July 4th concert and fireworks on the Esplanade.

Although it is not clear whether the tunnel’s future configuration will impact the Esplanade’s accessibility, South Boston’s Moakley Park might be next in line for the honors.

“We don’t know what traffic patterns will be like [after the tunnel’s completion], but we’re doing our homework to look into alternatives should the Hatch Shell not be available,” said Steve MacDonald, spokesperson for Boston 4 Celebrations, the non-profit organization that plans Boston’s July 4th event. “We anticipate that whatever they come up with will have a tremendous effect on putting this concert on.”

Boston’s modern day July 4th celebrations began in 1974, after David Mugar suggested to the late Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler that the orchestra embellish its rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” Fiedler responded with cannons, church bells and Boston’s first July 4th fireworks display over the Charles River.

“We like to plan for every contingency and Moakley Park would be a great location,” MacDonald said, stressing that the possible relocation of the fireworks is “strictly in the planning stages.”

“We are not moving anywhere until if and when we have to,” he said. “We will do our part to make sure this concert continues in Boston.”

Any potential site for the fireworks must satisfy two criteria, according to MacDonald. It must be accessible to public transportation and contain a body of water large enough to support four barges loaded with fireworks. The Charles River and Boston Harbor are the only sites in Boston that can satisfy the latter requirement, MacDonald said.

July 4th celebrations on the Esplanade routinely attract between 500,000 and 600,000 spectators, as well as hundreds of Massachusetts State Police patrolling Memorial Drive and Storrow Drive on foot, horseback, motorcycles and in boats. About 350,000 or 400,000 spectators come from Boston, with another 200,000 walking across the Longfellow Bridge from Cambridge. Another eight million viewers nationwide tune into CBS’s live coverage of the event, a highly rated prime time special called “Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.”

“Since 1974 the Esplanade has been identified nationwide with Boston and the 4th of July,” MacDonald said. “We love the location.”

Jeannette Herrmann, president of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, said, “There are going to be so many disruptions connected with the Storrow Drive tunnel. It could expose new and better options on a variety of fronts,” she said.

Herrmann said she is looking forward to working with the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay and the Esplanade Association on projects related to the tunnel’s construction. “We’ll see what comes of it. It’s too early to make guesses,” she said.

credit: Clint Hamblin



David and Lisa Solomon, Renata Von Tscharner, of the Charles River Conservancy, Linda Cox, Chesnut Street, Herbert Nolan, and Holger Kunst enjoyed a waterside sunset while helping to raise funds for Community Boating at its annual “Raise the Sails for Kids” event.

Our bargain

People from other parts of the country make fun of the Big Dig. So do some Bostonians. They point out all the cost overruns, the leaks and the wavy road surface in the tunnel. They mention the scam artists and contractors who are now in trouble for padding the bills or skimping on the quality. They talk about how the problems with the project broke grown men who operated on bravado and ruined their careers. They scoff at the waste in almost $15 billion of mostly federal funds. Burying the Central Artery even produced skeptics among some of our favorite politicians. Remember Barney Frank, who remarked that it would be cheaper to raise the city.

The only problem with the naysayers is that they obviously never anticipated nor have they encountered the results of our 15-plus years of construction. It is luscious.

Let’s talk about the quiet. Walk down Causeway Street or behind Faneuil Hall. No more horns, road noise or engines idling. Because of sound absorbers lining the rim, it’s even relatively quiet where cars emerge from the tunnel to climb over the Zakim Bridge.

We’re assuming that the air quality has improved without those belching engines idling on the elevated road.

The old streets are back. You can now walk from Beacon Hill and glimpse the harbor along some streets before you actually get there, and you don’t have to go under a frightful, dirty elevated roadway. It seems as if we have returned to the ocean. This was the Boston that was meant to be.

The sun is back. It’s hard to imagine the mind-set that caused 1950s leaders to tear down a string of buildings and turn a ribbon of Boston into a dungeon covered with green-painted steel. But the dungeon is gone. When you look down one of the streets that cross the Greenway it is as if the sun shines now from all sides rather than just from above.

It’s easier to drive around Boston because of the new streets, tunnels, bridges and intersections. That probably won’t last for long, as more cars take advantage of the faster flow. But for now we’ll enjoy it.

The Big Dig has opened up economic opportunity with old, low-use buildings near the Greenway being turned into housing. Businesses in that location will surely enjoy a renaissance as the harbor and the Greenway draw tourists and residents from other neighborhoods to investigate the new vistas and amenities.

For civil engineering buffs—and what city dweller doesn’t admit to a certain amount of interest in the subject—it is a marvel, producing 15 years of entertainment. From the day workmen began to relocate utility lines to this spring when plantings began to go in, it was a marvel of construction sequencing and planning.

One observer pointed out that relocating all the utility lines downtown gave this city the opportunity to upgrade every type of service so that Boston now has one of the most technologically up-to-date utility systems in America. Old cities have few chances to make those changes, and we were able to do so.

For those of us who live in downtown Boston neighborhoods, it makes our enjoyment of the city more extensive and more profound.

There is a way to go. We need to get a community center and several cultural institutions built and make sure the green spaces work. After all, we didn’t get a Copley Square that people liked until after a couple of tries.

It took an earthquake for San Francisco to get rid of an elevated eyesore. For Boston, it took the leadership of Fred Salvucci and a score of other promoters who slowly and surely solved the problems of politics, design and financing.

We buried the Central Artery and accomplished a few other things besides. Looking back on it, we are in awe. It cost only $15 billion? We got a bargain.

Beacon Hill Civic Association Executive Director Judith Hughes announced last week that she will leave that position at the end of July.

“It has been an interesting eighteen months in my post,” said Hughes, who came on board in January, 2005. “I hope I have added value to the organization, but demands on my time from other quarters necessitate this decision.”

Hughes oversaw the temporary relocation of the nonprofit neighborhood association last summer, when 74 Joy Street underwent a complete renovation.

“Judith's fabulous organizational skills have carried the civic association out of 74 Joy, through the building's reconstruction, and back into 74 Joy smoothly,” said Jeannette Herrmann, BHCA chair. “She has led the charge as we cleaned out, reorganized and updated our physical and information infrastructures. The board, future staff and neighbors will all appreciate her work for years to come.”

BHCA President John Achatz said the process to search for a replacement has begun, and interested individuals may email inquiries to search@bhcivic.org.