Mechanics Hall (Boston, Massachusetts)
Mechanics Hall (Boston, Massachusetts) was a building and community institution on Huntington Avenue at West Newton Street, from 1881 to 1959. Commissioned by the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, it was built by the noted architect William Gibbons Preston. The building was located between the Boston and Albany railroad yards and Huntington avenue. It was razed for the Prudential Center urban renewal project of the early 1960s.[1] The site is on the north side of Huntington Avenue, and since 1941 has been served by Prudential Station (nee Mechanics Hall Station) of the MBTA Green Line E branch.
The building's sizable auditorium was host to meetings and conventions. Over the years the building was host to events such as boat shows, auto shows, dog shows, flower shows and sporting shows.[2][3] For example, in 1883 the Foreign Exhibition Association held a large exhibit of "foreign arts, manufactures and products".[4] Also in 1883 the Olympian Club held a "floral display and costume carnival" that included indoor rollerskating.[5] It was briefly the home court of the Boston Whirlwinds of the American Basketball League.[6]
Today, the site is the location of the 111 Huntington Avenue.
See also
Notes
- ^ Sports Temples of Boston http://www.bpl.org/online/sportstemples/temple.php?temple_id=11&pid=bpldc:05_02_010652
- ^ Sports Temples of Boston http://www.bpl.org/online/sportstemples/temple.php?temple_id=11&pid=bpldc:05_02_010652
- ^ Charles Giuliano, "The New Boston: On the Waterfront City Hall to Join the ICA's Harbor View" http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/?page=article&article_id=185&catID=3
- ^ Official catalogue Foreign Exhibition, Boston, 1883: Foreign Exhibition Association, Boston, Mass., USA. Boston: G. Coolidge, 1883
- ^ "Merry Skaters: Novel and Gay Scenes at the Mechanic's Building; the Hall Adorned by a Wealth of Flowers and Thronged by 10,000 Spectators", Boston Daily Globe, June 7, 1883
- ^ Foulds, Alan E. (2005). Boston's Ballparks and Arenas. Northeastern. p. 79. ISBN 978-1584654094.
Image gallery
- Mechanics Hall, Huntington Avenue (1881–1959)
-
Rollerskating, 1883 (photo by A.N. Hardy) -
Detail of 1888 map of Back Bay, showing the new Mechanics Hall on Huntington Ave. -
Sportsman's Show, Mechanics Hall, 19th century -
Sportsman's Show, Mechanics Hall, 19th century -
Advertisement for auto show, 1911 -
Mechanics Hall, Huntington Ave., 1920 -
Mechanics Hall, 1959 -
Mechanics Hall, 1959
External links
- History and images from the Boston Public Library
- Image of exhibit interior, c. 1881
- Documents related to the razing of buildings for Prudential site
- Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey. Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association, Exhibition Hall, Huntington Avenue & West Newton Street, Boston, Suffolk County, MA
- Library of Congress. Photo of Creatore's Band on steps of Mechanics Building, Huntington Ave, Boston, Mass, 1903, by E. Chickering
