Citywide celebration of Boston’s public spaces – the architectural and cultural cornerstones that have provided a place for generations to build and share community.

1. Building Boston
A citywide celebration of Boston’s public spaces
Boston Public Library 2012–2013
www.bpl.org/buildingboston
Building Boston is a citywide
celebration of Boston’s public
spaces – the architectural
and cultural cornerstones
that have provided a place
for generations to build and
share community.
Throughout the city’s long
history, our gardens, sports
arenas, libraries, courthouses,
public transportation
centers, and memorials have
represented some of the most
distinctive and well-known
elements of the cityscape.
Building Boston explores the
stories behind the creation of
these iconic public venues,
examining the conceivers,
constructors, chroniclers, and
ever-changing set of users who
call these spaces their own.

2. Exhibitions Central Library in Copley Square
Palaces for the People: The People’s Own:
Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces the Construction of the McKim Building
September 28, 2012 – February 24, 2013 Changing Exhibits Gallery October 9, 2012 – January 31, 2013 Rare Books Lobby
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Boston Public Library From 1885 to 1895, the sounds of construction and the shouts of
partner to present the first major exhibition on the Guastavino Company laborers filled Copley Square. Passersby leaned out of trolley cars to
and its architectural and historical legacy. Rafael Guastavino – Spanish get a better look and curious pedestrians stood in wonder in front of
immigrant, innovative builder, and visionary designer – and his son Rafael Old South Church as the new Boston Public Library slowly took shape.
Jr. contributed to the design and construction of structural tile vaulting Designed by Charles Follen McKim of the architectural firm McKim, Mead,
in more than 1,000 major buildings across the United States, including and White, the McKim Building – as it is now known – opened its doors
the Boston Public Library, Ellis Island, and Grand Central Station. Palaces in February of 1895 at a cost of $2.5 million. The People’s Own features
for the People features original drawings from the company’s archives; historic photographs, dating primarily from August 1888 to December
large-scale, contemporary photographs of Guastavino construction; 1889, that document the library’s construction. These photographs
a half-scale model vault showcasing the firm’s building techniques; and provide a pictorial narrative of the McKim Building, from the first shovels
historic artifacts, photographs, and manuscripts. This exhibition is funded of earth to the beautiful edifice that stands today.
by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Exhibitions
An Elevated View: The Orange Line Boston During the Gilded Age:
October 19, 2012 – January 19, 2013 Wiggin Gallery Mapping Public Places
Twenty-five years ago, the MBTA relocated the Orange Line, November 16, 2012 – March 17, 2013 Norman B. Leventhal Map Center
dismantling the elevated rail that had long defined Boston’s Southwest The Gilded Age in the late 19th century was a period of transformation
Corridor. Two years prior to the project, the private nonprofit agency in Boston. Ingenious engineering projects allowed the City to expand,
URBANARTS organized, on behalf of the MBTA, a program called and a devastating fire led to swift and progressive redevelopment of the
Arts in Transit. The project paired photographers with photography commercial district. Documenting Boston’s radically changing geography,
students to document the corridor in transition from Forest Hills to this exhibition uses maps and other graphics from the Boston Public
Dover Station. In the fall of 1985, the students and their teachers Library’s special collections to focus on the evolving street pattern and
began photographing the Orange Line and its architectural and social emerging park system. The story begins with the Boston Common and
surroundings. An Elevated View features more than 65 photographs Public Garden, moving west to examine the growth of open spaces in
from the project held by the Boston Public Library Print Department. Back Bay, then south to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace,
finishing with the development of Copley Square.

3. Special Tours Central Library in Copley Square
Boston Sports Temples
November 17, 2012 – May 31, 2013 Johnson Lobby
Boston Sports Temples showcases Boston’s beloved sports venues –
Guastavino at the BPL Tours
most notably the Boston Garden, Fenway Park, Braves Field, and Suffolk Through February 23, 2013
Downs – and their unique roles in the hearts and daily lives of generations Thursdays and Saturdays at 2:00 pm
of New Englanders. Featuring the Boston Public Library’s outstanding Guided tours of the gallery exhibition Palaces for the People:
collection of historic sports photography, the exhibition follows the Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces will be
creation and evolution of these four great public venues; their varied and followed by a special library tour featuring examples of
changing roles, functions, and communities of users; and their powerful Guastavino vaulting throughout the building. The hour-
connections with millions of devoted fans who have filled their seats long tours are free and open to the public. No reservations
night after night, season after season. This exhibition is sponsored by required. Meet in the Palaces for the People exhibition,
the Boston Public Library Foundation. located in the Changing Exhibits Gallery.
Lowell Lecture Series: Common Ground Rabb Lecture Hall, Central Library in Copley Square
Built around the theme “Common Ground,” David Macaulay
distinguished speakers in the 2012–2013 Thursday, October 11, 2012 6:00 pm
Lowell Lecture Series will discuss From the pyramids of Egypt to the
skyscrapers of New York City, the human
the creation and evolution of race’s great architectural and engineering
public spaces — both historical accomplishments have been demystified
through David Macaulay’s elaborate show-
and contemporary. and-tells. Born in 1946, David Macaulay
moved from England to New Jersey at the age
This series is generously of eleven and began to draw seriously after
sponsored by the Lowell Institute, graduating from high school. He published
established in 1836 with the his first lavishly illustrated book, Cathedral,
specific mission of making in 1973. Following in this tradition, Macaulay
great ideas accessible created other books – including City, Castle,
to all people, free Pyramid, Mill, Underground, Unbuilding,
of charge. and Mosque – that have provided the
explanations of the architectural how and
why in a way that is both accessible and
entertaining. His detailed illustrations and
sly humor have earned him fans of all ages,
and five titles have been made into popular
PBS television programs. His many awards
include the Caldecott Medal and Honor
Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award,
the Christopher Award, and the Washington
Post-Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award.
In 2006, he was awarded a prestigious
MacArthur Fellowship.

4. Robert Campbell and Justice Stephen Breyer and
Peter Vanderwarker Judge Douglas Woodlock
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 6:00 pm Tuesday, November 20, 2012 6:00 pm
Boston Globe architecture critic U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen
Robert Campbell and photographer Breyer has always had a special interest
Peter Vanderwarker co-authored in architecture: he helped oversee the
Cityscapes of Boston: An American design and construction of the John
City through Time (1994), which explored Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse
Boston past and present and the rise, fall, and harbor park in Boston and wrote the
and evolution of urban centers. Campbell foreword to Celebrating the Courthouse:
received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism A Guide for Architects, Their Clients,
for his writing on architecture. He has been and the Public. He currently serves as
in private practice as an architect since a jury member for the prestigious Pritzker
1975 and has served as a consultant to Architecture Prize. In 1980, he was
cultural institutions and cities. He received appointed to the United States Court of
the 2004 Award of Honor of the Boston Appeals for the First Circuit by President
Society of Architects, “in recognition of Carter, becoming Chief Judge in 1990.
outstanding contributions to architecture In 1994, he was appointed a Supreme Court
and to the profession.” Peter Vanderwarker is Justice by President Clinton. Douglas P.
a freelance photographer and author whose Woodlock was appointed a United States
work interprets both natural and man-made District Judge for the District of Massachusetts
environments. He is the author or co-author of in 1986. He was a charter member of the
four books, including The Big Dig: Reshaping Space, Facilities and Security Committee of
an American City. Vanderwarker holds a the Judicial Conference of the United States,
degree in Architecture from the University of developing design standards for federal
California at Berkeley and served as a Loeb courthouses nationally. In 1996, he received
Fellow at Harvard University in 1996 the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public
and 1997. Architecture from the American Institute
of Architects.
Lowell Lecture Series: Common Ground
John Ochsendorf Maya Lin
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 6:00 pm Thursday, January 24, 2013 6:00 pm
John Ochsendorf is Associate Professor Maya Lin has created a remarkable
of Architecture and Civil and Environmental body of work that includes large-scale
Engineering at MIT, where he researches site-specific installations, intimate studio
the mechanics of historic monuments and artworks, architecture, and memorials.
the design of more sustainable buildings. Her artwork has been shown in museum
He is the author of Guastavino Vaulting: and gallery exhibitions in the United
The Art of Structural Tile (2010). States and around the world.
Ochsendorf directs the Guastavino A committed environmentalist, she is also at
research project at MIT and is the curator work on her last memorial, What is Missing?,
of Palaces for the People: Guastavino and a multi-sited artwork that raises awareness
America’s Great Public Spaces, the first about the current crisis surrounding
major exhibition celebrating the Guastavino biodiversity and habitat loss.
Company and its architectural legacy, on view
at the Central Library through February 24, Lin graduated from Yale University receiving
2013. Ochsendorf has received numerous a BA in 1981 and an MA in 1986, and
international awards, including a Rome Prize has maintained a professional studio in
from the American Academy in Rome, the New York City since then. She is a member
Edoardo Benvenuto Prize in Mechanics and of the American Academy of Arts and Letters,
Architecture from Genoa, and a MacArthur the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. and was awarded the National Medal of Arts
MacArthur Foundation. by President Barack Obama in 2009.

5. Janet Marie Smith
Thursday, March 7, 2013 6:00 pm
Janet Marie Smith served as Senior Vice
President of Planning and Development for
the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2009,
overseeing the preservation of historic
Fenway Park and leading the program
that placed this significant landmark on
the National Historic Register. In 2012,
the Boston Baseball Writers honored Smith
with a Special Achievement Award for
her work at Fenway Park. Smith previously
worked for the Orioles from 1989-94 as
Vice President of Planning and Development
during the design and construction of Oriole
Park at Camden Yards. In August 2012,
Smith joined the Los Angeles Dodgers
as Senior Vice President of Planning and
Development to oversee upgrades and
enhancements to Dodger Stadium.
More Programs & Lectures
Panel Discussion: The Friends of the Public Garden:
Orange Line Photographers Four Decades of
Thursday, November 1, 2012 6:00 pm Public-Private Partnership
Commonwealth Salon, Central Library in Copley Square Thursday, November 1, 2012 6:30 pm West End Branch
In the fall of 1985, the Arts in Transit project Speaker Elizabeth Vizza is the Executive Director of the Friends of
paired photographers with photography students to the Public Garden, a nonprofit partner with the City of Boston Parks
document Boston’s elevated Orange Line rail system Department. Since 1970, the group has been dedicated to caring
and its architectural and social surroundings prior to for Boston’s first public parks: the Boston Common, Public Garden,
the elevated’s demolition in 1987. David Akiba and and Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Vizza has served on many nonprofit
Lou Jones, two photographers involved with the project, boards and public agency task forces dealing with the creation,
will discuss their photos and their experiences capturing protection, and enhancement of urban public space and historic
neighborhoods in transition. landscapes. This program is presented in partnership with
the Friends of the Public Garden.

6. Lego Building Class: Boston Neighborhoods:
Create Your Own Public Space People, Place, and Planning
Fridays: November 9, 16, 23 and 30 3:30 pm Fields Corner Branch Wednesday, January 9, 2013 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Tuesdays: January 8, 15, 22, and 29 3:30 pm Tierney Learning Center
An exploration of how people, place, and planning interacted
This is a four-week class where children will create and construct
throughout history to create the Boston of today, including
a public space, a park, a subway station, or a sports stadium using
the “eras” of Boston’s history shaped by these forces.
Legos. Please register in advance with one of the Boston Public Library
James Madden is a co-creator with MIT professor Tunney Lee
locations listed above. This program is a partnership with the Children’s
of “Boston: People, Place, and Planning,” a web-based,
Technology Workshop Boston.
comprehensive, and accessible history of Boston’s
urban development.
The Grandest Boulevard:
Commonwealth Avenue Mall
Thursday, December 13, 2012 6:00 pm
Commonwealth Salon, Central Library in Copley Square
Commonwealth Avenue Mall is a grand allée of shaded trees forming
the central axis of the Back Bay and connecting the Public Garden
to the Back Bay Fens. From its inception in 1856, the Mall has been
a vital and beautiful amenity for both residents and visitors; Winston
Churchill praised it as “the grandest boulevard in North America.”
Speaker Margaret Pokorny moved to Back Bay in 1980. Her thesis for
the Radcliffe Seminars program in Landscape Design was a history and
master plan for the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Pokorny has served on
the boards of the Friends of Copley Square, the Friends of the Public
Garden, the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, the Garden
Club of the Back Bay, and the Esplanade Association. This program is
presented in partnership with the Friends of the Public Garden.
More Programs & Lectures continued
Annual Druker Lecture: Joe Gallo & Public Art
Celebrating Art and Design Monday, February 11, 2013 6:30 pm Adams Street Branch
Saturday, January 12, 2013 3:00 pm Tuesday, March 5, 2013 6:30 pm Faneuil Branch
Abbey Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:30 pm South End Branch
Elizabeth Diller is a founding principal of Diller Scofidio + Renfro,
an interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture, Boston is home to some of the most extraordinary public art in
the visual arts, and the performing arts. DS+R’s projects include North America and features works by such famed sculptors as
the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Lincoln Center Daniel Chester French, Katherine Lane Weems, George Aarons, and
expansion and renovation in New York, the Museum of Image and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Joseph Gallo, author of Boston Bronze &
Sound in Rio de Janeiro, the Blur Building in Switzerland, the Broad Stone Speak To Us: A Guide to Public Sculpture in Boston, will
Museum in Los Angeles, and the Columbia University Business School. present a slide show highlighting notable monuments throughout
DS+R are recipients of the MacArthur Foundation “genius” award, the city and will also discuss various social and ethnographic patterns
the National Design Award from the Smithsonian, the Brunner Prize that emerge in Boston’s public art.
from the American Academy of the Arts and Letters, and numerous
AIA awards. Diller is a Professor of Architecture at Princeton University.
Incombustible Construction:
Guastavino’s Fireproof Vaults in Context
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Rafael Guastavino’s floor and ceiling vaults are celebrated for their
beauty, but they were introduced originally for a very practical reason:
to protect buildings from fire. This lecture will present the history of
systems of fireproof floor construction used in the United States and
illustrate how Guastavino’s system compared with the alternatives
when it was introduced. Speaker Sara E. Wermiel is an independent
scholar, historic preservation consultant, and teacher. Her specialties
are the history of nineteenth-century American technology,
industrialization, and urbanization.

7. Boston’s Chinatown:
Beyond Stereotypes, Food, and Boundaries
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
Boston’s Chinatown started on Harrison Avenue around 1880 to
serve as the center for the Chinese in the Greater Boston area. Today,
Chinatown has evolved into an active residential neighborhood and a vital
commercial and services center for Greater Boston. Speaker Tunney Lee
was born in Taishan, Guangdong, China; grew up in Boston’s Chinatown;
and attended the Quincy School and Boston Latin. Professor Lee is
retired from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the
Department of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
A History of Fenway Park
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 6:30 pm Adams Street Branch
Richard A. Johnson serves as the curator of the Sports Museum at
TD Garden. He has authored and edited numerous books on a variety
of sports topics, including histories of each of Boston’s four major
sports franchises as well as the Boston Braves, Boston Garden,
Boston Marathon, and a century of Boston sports. During his lecture,
Mr. Johnson will discuss the history of various Boston sports temples,
such as Braves Field, Fenway Park, and the Boston Garden.
More Programs & Lectures continued
The Harbor Islands: The Memoir Project:
Boston’s Unique Neighborhood Recording the Memoirs of Boston’s Seniors
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 6:00 pm Wednesday, May 8, 2013 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
One of Boston’s most noted archaeologists presents the history of Since 2008, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Boston’s Elderly
this unique area and explains why it can be considered a neighborhood. Commission have partnered with a local nonprofit, Grub Street, to
Speaker Ellen Berkland is the former Boston City Archeologist and produce the Memoir Project. The project has gathered senior citizens
currently serves as the Archaeologist for the Department of Conservation from Boston neighborhoods to write down their personal memories,
and Recreation. an important part of the great history of the city. This landmark project
guides participants in sharing their stories through writing their memories
in bound journals for their families and future generations to learn from
The West End: and remember. Project staff will describe how the partnership came
about and explain the techniques they use for gathering and writing
From Early Immigration to Urban Excess oral histories.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 6:00 pm
Orientation Room, Central Library in Copley Square
James Campano and Duane Lucia of the West End Museum will
present a broad look at an important American urban neighborhood
from the seventeenth century to the present time. The West End
Museum is a neighborhood museum located at 150 Staniford Street
on the ground floor of West End Place. The museum is dedicated
to the collection, preservation, and interpretation of the history
and culture of the West End of Boston. James Campano is
Founder of the West End Museum and Duane Lucia is
the Executive Director.

8. Images courtesy of the Boston Public Library Print Department, including photos by Russ Adams, David Akiba, and Leslie Jones. Map detail courtesy of
Design by Neva Corbo-Hudak the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library. Other photos courtesy of Michael Freeman, Gina Perille, Walter Smith, and Peter Vanderwarker.
www.bpl.org/buildingboston
City of Boston
Thomas M. Menino, Mayor
Boston Public Library
Amy E. Ryan, President
Board of Trustees
Jeffrey B. Rudman, Chair
Evelyn Arana-Ortiz, Vice Chair
Zamawa Arenas
Carol Fulp
Paul A. La Camera
Dennis Lehane
Byron Rushing
www.bpl.org
700 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
10.2012