Historic District Along Charles River Is a Calm Among the Urban Sprawl

This is the third in a nine-part series on Boston.com about historic districts in the city of Boston.

Known for its iconic brownstones and views of the Esplanade and the Charles River, Bay State Road is quite a pleasant place to live or to visit. But as you might notice, there are not many commercial buildings in this historic district.

This mainly residential area was one of the last areas to be completed as a part of the Back Bay landfill project. So how do you distinguish between the Back Bay Architectural District and the Bay State Road/Back Bay West Architectural Conservation District?

According to William Young, overseer of the Bay State Road District and Director of Design Review for the City of Boston Environmental Department, “Bay State Road is very much an extension of Back Bay proper. It is separated from the rest of Back Bay by Charlesgate and is characterized by a more compressed period of development.’’

While the rest of Back Bay took over 40 years to build, the Bay State Road area developed within 20 years. According to City Hall, the most active period was between 1895 and 1899.

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The Bay State Road Improvement Society declared in 1900 that for 50 years, commercial and industrial land uses would be prohibited – which would explain why most of the neighborhood is still solely residential today. This rule was not renewed when it expired in 1950.

According to the Bay State Road/ Back Bay West study published in 1979, “improvements to the Charles River shore and basin paralleled development of the Back Bay and were important to the attractiveness and viability of Bay State Road as a residential area.’’

In 1903, the Charles River Basin dam began construction and was completed in 1910. According to the study, this project removed exposed mudflats and improved the view of the Charles from houses along Bay State Road.

Though there were no industrial businesses in this area and the majority of the buildings were residential, Bay State/ Back Bay West came to be known for its medical and dental offices and hotels.

“A great distinction of Bay State road from Back Bay has been the differing demographics of the area,’’ Young said. “It was pretty well-established by the 20s.’’

The Myles Standish Hotel was built in 1925, but was later sold to Boston University for dorms in 1949. In 1923, the original Sheraton Hotel was built on Bay State and was sold to Boston University as a women’s dorm in 1954.

The area also became know for the Joslin Clinic at 81 Bay State Road and the Lahey Clinic, which eventually moved from its original Beacon Street location to 143 Bay State Road.

Helen and James Storrow also made quite an impact on the area. James was a prominent banker and Helen was very involved in the Girl Scouts Organization.

According to the study, Helen Osborne Storrow donated $1 million dollars to improve the river embankment and the funds were used from 1931 to 1934 to “double the area of the original Esplanade, build a boathouse, two breakwaters, a lagoon, and four miles of footpaths.’’

In 1949, construction of James J. Storrow Memorial Drive was approved.

The study said the area “is significant as a substantially intact area of late 19th and early 20th century buildings in the ‘authentic revival’ styles of the period.’’

At the time, according to the study, there were 197 buildings in the district, which included one free standing house, three former hotels (two of which were serving as Boston University dorms), one dorm build by BU, and some apartment buildings. Boston University was utilizing a variety of the buildings for offices, among other things.

The report also said that a many of the buildings were in excellent condition.

There were a variety of arguments for making Bay State Road/ Back Bay West its own district. The study said that “residential stability and institutional expansion’’ were of concern to residents because people feared their homes would be absorbed into the Boston University campus, as much of the street already had been.

Part of it was that the Back Bay Architectural District was already established.

“I think there was an awareness that the designation of Back Bay proper had begun to improve the visual character of that large adjacent neighborhood,’’ Young said. “They recognized that Bay State road was really integral to the Back Bay, just set apart from it from the topography and the street layout.’’

Many of the buildings were of equal quality and also visually pleasing.

“The designation of the area would foster a greater appreciation of the resource,’’ Young said.

“That standard of maintenance would only enhance the real estate values and visual quality of the neighborhood. Certainly that has proved to be correct.’’

Today Bay State Road/Back Bay West gives residents and tourists a look at possibly the most calming part of the city and though Boston University still owns a number of them, Young said they do an excellent job of up keeping their exterior and interior historic charm.

“I think many people are unaware of it because of its position behind Kenmore Square,’’ Young said. “Kenmore is kind of a dominant feature in the city. I imagine every year during baseball season there must be frantic people looking for parking that find themselves on Bay State and ask themselves ‘where am I?’ and ‘I want to come back another time.’’’

The Bay State Road/Back Bay West Architectural Conservation District was designated in 1979.

Architectural Styles

Bay State Road/Back Bay West is known for its revival styles, which were popular when this area was being developed in the late 19th century. There are five main revival styles you can see if you find yourself strolling down Bay State: Classical Revival, Renaissance Revival, Georgian Revival, Federal Revival, and Tudor Revival.

– Classic Revival: This was often called the McKim Classical style from the name of the firm that popularized it and was, according to the Bay State Road/ Back Bay West study known for its “sober monumentality, symmetry, monotone color, stone material and decorative features that have been copied from actual Roman monuments.’’

– Renaissance Revival: According to the study, this style is known for “symmetry, uniform color, restrained Classical decoration concentrated at entries, around windows and at roofline, horizontal emphasis of the façade and floor organization see in the high basement.’’

– Georgian Revival: According to the study, this style is known for its “robust, monumental, and elaborate character. It is symmetrical in plan with boxlike proportion. Openings, corners, and outer edges are emphasized by classically derived ornament.’’

– Federal Revival: This style has “showbox-like proportions, flat surfaces, red brick with white trim and low-hipped roof,’’ according to the study.

– Tudor Revival: This style is “characterized by asymmetry, unbalanced massing, heavy stonework with Gothic decoration and complicated roof structure,’’ and is know as having a “medieval effect,’’ according to the study.

Famous Sites on Bay State Road

– Home of Dr. Elliot P. Joslin (81 Bay State): Joslin (1869-1962) was a diabetes specialist and lived in this Classical Revival home on Bay State Road, according to the study. This was also the location of the Joslin Clinic until it was moved.

– Weld House (149 Bay State Road): Arthur Wallace Rice and William York Peters built this house in 1900 for Dr. Charles Goddard Weld was a surgeon in the area. According to the book Built in Boston it is “by far the grandest’’ house that was built in the Georgian Revival style in Boston.

– Arthur Little House (2 Raleigh Street): Young said that this was one of the earliest houses in the Bay State area. It is a red brick house designed by Arthur Little himself, a prominent Boston architect. According to Young, “Raleigh Street reflects the architect’s vanity because at the turn of the century Boston society, Mr. Little liked to appear at masquerade balls as Sir Walter Raleigh.’’

Regulations

Though the majority of this district is on Bay State, it crosses over to cover part of Commonwealth Ave. and Back Street, therefore the regulations, imposed by the district, are split up into three sections though there are many common themes.

No new openings are allowed in building facades, including new windows and doors and all changes that are going to be made to existing doors must first be approved. Walking down Bay State, you will notice that many apartments and homes have beautiful and long stoops. So the guidelines say, “stoops on the main façade of the building will be retained.’’Though when stoops or front stairs have to be repaired or replaced, the regulations say that they should be “rebuilt of masonry’’ and should be as close as possible to the original.

If the home requires new paint, the color is determined based on the home style. For Colonial or Federal Revival designs, it should be painted white or another light color, but never pastel. For European Revival designs, it should be painted dark or earth tones.

The regulations say, “Much of the character of the district is dependent on the scale and appearance of the green spaces,’’ therefore they will be less critically reviewed than the building exteriors.

In regards to backyards, “it is recommended that consideration be given to the installation or retention of trees or other landscape materials to soften the appearance of buildings as viewed from Newbury Street and Charlesgate West.’’

Any questions, concerns, or proposals for exterior change should be brought up with the Boston Landmarks Commission.

Correction: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story misspelled Dr. Elliot P. Joslin’s first name. 

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