National Register of Historic Places

Bedford Building

Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Listed
August 20, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79000368

About this property

The Bedford Block or Bedford Building is an historic commercial building at 99 Bedford Street Boston, Massachusetts, in an area called Church Green. Built in 1875 to a design by Charles Amos Cummings and Willard T. Sears, it is a rare local example of a style promoted by John Ruskin called Venetian Gothic. The building was added to the National Historic Register in 1979. The Bedford Block is located in the southern part of Boston's downtown, at the northeast corner of Bedford and Lincoln Streets facing the triangular intersection known as Church Green. The Bedford Block's exterior is constructed of polychromatic bands of New Brunswick red granite, Tuckahoen marble, and pressed terra-cotta panels manufactured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first building after the Great Fire to use New Brunswick red granite as a material. The first floor features rough rustic blocks. Upper floor details include arched bay windows, Viollet-le-Duc inspired iron balconets and flat column pilasters. Each roof gable is topped with a finial crown. There is a glazed tile clock is located in a 5-story tower at the northeast corner. The building was designed by Charles Amos Cummings and Willard T. Sears for Henry and Francis Lee as a retail shoe center in an area that had been destroyed by the Great Boston Fire of 1872. It included fire-prevention features added to Boston's building codes in the wake of the fire, including fire blocking internal brick walls. The building was renovated in 1983 in conjunction with the Bay-Bedford Company. National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts

Location

89-103 Bedford St.
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
42.35301, -71.05832

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Church Green Buildings Historic District
Listed
0 mi
Textile District
Listed
0.1 mi
Leather District
Listed
0.1 mi
United Shoe Machinery Corporation Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Wigglesworth Building
Industrial
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Siege of Boston
1775Revolutionary War
0.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Bedford Building listed on the National Register?

Bedford Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Bedford Building?

Bedford Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Bedford Building?

The period of significance for Bedford Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Bedford Building?

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