R. and C.R. Codman Building
35-39 Kilby Street
Boston, Mass.
Year Built: 1873
Year Demolished: Unsure
Sturgis & Brigham designed this brick and freestone building in 1873. It was subsequently demolished.
The corner of the building was carried up between the two facades on a diagonal line. The façade on Kilby Street was of moderate width and in the first story had a single opening beneath a segmental arch of 12½ feet span. The construction at each side of the opening was with alternate blocks of light and dark colored freestone. The voussoirs of the arch were alternated in like manner, and were of that depth that the sill course of the second story rested upon them. Above, or on this sill course, the brick work began. The openings of the second stories were triple windows, occupying in each instance a width corresponding to that of the single opening of the first story. The second story triple window had a stone lintel, molded on the window edge, and the caps of the piers that carried it were carved. Above this lintel was a molded belt course.
The triple window of the third story was crossed by a similar lintel, but above it was a segmental arch of light and dark voussoirs. A belt of stone was carried through the façade on a level with the springing of this arch. The caps of the third story piers, like those of the second story were carved. The main cornice came next and was ornamented by dentils. Above this was a mansard roof, in the center of which was a massive stone gable, of gothic design was raised. The opening in the gable was occupied by a window, the mullion of which was a stone column with a carved capital. The arch, which was carried over this opening, had a segmental inner line and a gothic outer line.
The main entrance was in the diagonal corner. This entrance was of rich gothic design and shows two interior round columns with finely wrought capitals. The opening was crossed by a lintel having a molded under edge. Above the lintel, a flat gothic arch was constructed, and above this a gothic gable. Within the gable was a carved stone ornament, all the work up to this height being of stone. The construction in the other stories corresponded to that of the Kilby Street façade, giving a coupled instead of a triple window in the second and third stories, and a single instead of a double opening in the dormer.
The Exchange Place façade repeated the same features. The central section had three openings in each story, one of these in the first story being the entrance to the chambers. At each side of this central section a pavilion was carried up to the roof and finished with a gothic gable, the construction of each pavilion being precisely like that of the Kilby Street façade. The section at each extreme of the façade had a single opening in each story. The mansard roof showed a single dormer over each of the three sections and three dormers between the gables of the two pavilions.
When the permit was issued by the City of Boston in January, 1873, the name of the street that this building was built on was Lindall Street, which was renamed Exchange Place in 1873. In the permit, numbers 15-21 Lindall suggest that the building became 17-21 Exchange Place, which actually fronted on Kilby Street. Comparing the building to others on Lindall Street/Exchange Place, the measurements of 25 x 83 also suggests that 17-21 Exchange Place is the subject building.
References
• "The Burnt District: Liberty Square and its Vicinity,” R. and C.R. Codman Building, Boston Globe, November 10, 1873, p. 3 (Sturgis and Brigham, R and C.R. Codman Building).
• John Hubbard Sturgis Cash Book, 1/1/1871 – 12/31/1872, amounts received from R. and C.R. Codman Trustees, December 2, 1872 ($300 and $700), December 7, 1872 ($700);December 17, 1872 ($615.62); and December 26, 1872 ($500). Also amount expended for R. and C.R. Codman Trustees November 30, 1872 ($250); December 2, 1872 ($50); December 7, 1872 ($700); December 20, 1872 ($615.62); and December 26, 1872 ($500)
• “Building Permits Granted for Week Ending January 17,” Boston Globe, January 20, 1873, p. 5, “Sturgis & Brigham, 15, 17, 19 and 21 Lindall Street, four-story building, 25 x 83, flat roof.”
• 1874 Boston Directory, Lindall Street, name changed to Exchange Place.
Images
<<< Back to Design List
|
|
|
