Excerpt from Central Business District Preservation Study, Vol. 2: Part II: Draft Summary of Findings, September 1980

Taking an unconventional view of the city's recent past, the city planner Lewis Mumford has observed that Boston was fortunate that it experienced economic stagnation in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's. Otherwise, he maintains, the city would have lost its 19th century architectural heritage to new construction and we would find ourselves Living and working in a very different environment today.

Boston did, of course, emerge from its long economic slump and embark upon an impressive era of economic development, beginning in the 1960's. And a good number of older buildings were replaced by new highrise towers that have altered both the skyline and the streetscape of downtown Boston in dramatic fashion.

Today, in 1980, development interest and activity in the downtown continue to be strong - - and in this fact lies the possibility that Boston could, in the decade ahead, become the victim of its own success.

This is not to say that economic growth and activity is not crucial to the city's future or that every old building in Boston should remain, untouched forever. But it is meant to suggest that many factors must be considered in individual development decisions, not the least of which is what are the existing resources on any given potential development site. Because not only are many of downtown Boston's older structures "significant" for their architectural or historical value, but many buildings also make a contribution individually and collectively to Boston's sense of scale and manageability - - the very attributes that draw people here to work, and live, and visit... and invest. These very attributes we could foolishly destroy through a succession of careless decisions.

A basic tool to assist in making sensitive, informed decisions about future development in downtown Boston is a systematic and comprehensive survey of the architectural and historical resources of the area.

To provide that information, and as part of its ongoing responsibility to identify historic resources in all of the City of Boston, the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1979 undertook a Preservation Study of the Central Business District which included a complete inventory and analysis of all buildings in the retail and financial districts, the North and South Station areas, and the Government Center area. The Theatre District had been surveyed the previous year, and that work was incorporated into the larger study, providing, in sum, a complete picture of the commercial areas of downtown Boston in 1979-1980.

The preservation consultants who worked under contract to the Boston Landmarks Commission examined and evaluated every structure in the study area, some 650 in all. They also researched every building - - examining building permits, architectural periodicals, city directories, and other sources for background information and historical references to the structure, the architect, and the owners and occupants - - in order to assemble as complete a picture as possible of each building and its place in the city's history.

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