From early colonization to the late 19th century the differences between Boston and New York were very evident, but as the 20th century rolled around, the two cities became more similar. The age of industrialization and commerce pushed New York further into its capitalization theme and tipped Boston a little more towards it as well. Nowadays the cities are very similar in structure in that they both have a downtown commercial area and various, separate residential areas. The important things, however, are the buildings within these areas and their designs.
The people of Boston have always had a greater appreciation for beauty, and this explains their variety of preserved buildings. As the years went by, new buildings were built, but the old ones also remained. Today, this allows for newer office buildings to neighbor important historic buildings. By looking at the buildings in Boston, it easy to trace the changes and development of architecture through the ages.
image courtesy of altavista.com
Boston's residential areas have always been known for their rowhouses or Boston townhouses. This style was originally developed by Charles Bulfinch. While his famous Massachusetts State House was being completed he had another offer from the Mt. Vernon proprietors, a group of wealthy Bostonians. They wanted him to develop the land adjacent to the Capitol as an exclusive residential area. He took this opportunity in 1804 to lay out a strip of eight attached houses on Park Street that faced the Common toward the Charles River. Seven years later he was commissioned to design his famous Colonnade Row, a similar type of attached houses, located along the southern side of the Common. These two rows of houses in addition to the State House formed a frame of elegant buildings that changed the character of the Common from a country pasture to a city park. He furthered this idea by laying out walks and planting trees in the Common.
Although nothing remains of either of these strips of houses, other architects were influenced by this new style and spread it throughout the city. It was largely adapted because the style "was an exact replica of the simplicity and austerity on which the town was based."(6) These houses were all designed in the Federal Styles and main objective was to achieve symmetrical perfection. This caused the houses to be a lot more similar and demonstrated the little desire people had for ostentation. The houses were proud and elegant, yet simple and strict at the same time. Bulfinch's style only added to the already existing homogenous quality of Boston with its neat brick facade interrupted only by crisply cut windows and arched doorways.
One very good example of a Bulfinch design of a townhouse is the second Harrison Gray Otis House. Bulfinch built three houses for his friend Harrison, of which, this is the most famous. By setting the full-length windows on the ground floor, Bulfinch wanted to give the impression of a basement floor supporting the rest of the house. Bulfinch mixes in some traditional English architecture with the flat pilasters. These pilasters, however, were slightly different and less ornate than previous designs. The entablature that crowns these pilasters does not go all the way across the building, in another attempt to break away from previous designs. The entablature seems to be pressing down the top windows and this gives off the impression that the two are competing for space. This might have been because Bulfinch did want this house to be any higher, in order to keep it simple. The house remained symmetrical and without the pilasters, very plain. Although the house was a little more extravagant than others in Boston, it still was much more strict than those of England.
image courtesy of http://www.iboston.org/buildings/card/hgo2house.htm
As time progressed these townhouses were still used as residences, but they
just weren't sufficient enough to be used as commercial offices. New, larger
buildings were made possible with the turn of the century, and Boston companies
would have been at a great loss if they too didn't take full advantage of their
vertical space and build skyscrapers. (to continue with skyscraper information,
click on the skyscraper link below)
Just as the years progressed, so too did the architectural technology, which allowed buildings in New York City to rise in every meaning of the word. The new invention of the elevator and the usage of iron and steel frameworks allowed buildings to become skyscrapers. New Yorkers wanted more, and they wanted to surpass all previous limitations. These skyscrapers, which New York has always been famous for, are perfect example of New York's ostentatious nature. Office skyscrapers, however, were not the first large buildings, for these belonged to the wealthy on Fifth Avenue.
Originally New York City residents lived primarily in the southern most tip of the island, but as the years went on people began moving north. These people were primarily the wealthier, and they purchased large plots of land on which they built extravagant mansions. The most prominent region in Manhattan soon became Fifth Avenue.
Fifth Avenue was the perfect spot in the city. It had a view of the park, easy cross-town access, and was on the harbor side or "correct side" of the island. Fifth Avenue was a perfect demonstration of the status climbing that occurred so often in New York. By the 1840's and 1850's the street was lined with luxurious houses. It was considered to be a "little colony of millionaires up the river"(7) by the New York Times in 1895 and was also often called "millionaire mile." The houses were originally brownstones, which were the fashion at the time. Then as people made more money, and style changed, so too did the houses. Every new house was better than the rest. It was almost as if the wealthy people had created their own ongoing competition of best house. They wanted to impress each other at all costs.
"Fifth Avenue was originally one hundred feet wide, but later the city permitted property owners to encroach fifteen feet on the sidewalks for stoops, yards, and porticoes. Residents took full advantage of this stipulation and, to the annoyance of city officials, added all sorts of ornamentations to the fronts of their houses."(8)
One very important man in Fifth Avenue's history was William H. Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was an excellent example of someone that was always trying to push the envelope and break all boundaries. In 1979 Vanderbilt spent $15 million on four mansions on Fifth Avenue, three for his children and one for him. As seen in this image of his house on 52nd street, it was a magnificent structure.
Vanderbilt wanted his house to be as noticeable as possible and this resulted in the ornate decorations. The house has a lovely portico above the entrance. The architect, Richard Morris Hunt, purposely didn't evenly space the windows because he wanted to use them as decoration as well as necessities. The house is very asymmetrical, which contrasts greatly with the current houses in Boston. The balustrade and pediment above the windows are nicely decorated with cast-iron, as was the fashion at the time. The key to this structure is obviously the spire that shoots out of the tower beginning at the first floor. This spire had no real purpose, except to draw attention.
Other major attention grabbers were the vast skyscrapers that seemed to "pierce the heavens."
On to the Municipal page (Don't click yet because this would make you skip the skyscraper page, and who would want to do that?)
(6) Pierson, William H. Jr. American Buildings and their Architects: The Colonial and Neoclassical Style, (Published by Doubleday& Company Inc., Garden City, 1970.) page 147
(7) Heyer, Paul. Architects on Architecture: New Directions in America, (Published by George J. McLeod, Toronto, 1986)
(8) http://yost.com/art/fifth-avenue/FifthAvenue-booklet.html#Millionaire's%20Row