This morning Meet Boston with Billy and Jenny asked on Facebook whether the Massachusetts State House is the most beautiful building in the city. I had an immediate reaction to the question, as I think many people would. Because Boston has a lot of beautiful buildings and more than one candidate for that title.
Architecture Plus Art Museums
While only two of those candidates are actually art museums, Boston has several buildings that are not only beautiful but are art museums in their own right.
Both the structure and the works of art they hold would be the pride of any city. And Boston has five of them. I have written posts about two of them but there is so much more to know.
So, here is my list of Boston’s most beautiful buildings. To avoid charges of favoritism, I’m posting them here in alphabetical order. See if you can decide which one is your favorite.
John Adams Courthouse
- Constructed: 1896
- Architect(s): George Albert Clough, Desmond and Lord
- Function: Suffolk County Courthouse
- Notable Art Works: “Allegorical Figures” by Domingo Mora, “Rufus Choate” by Daniel Chester French.
- Recommendation: Just go in. Really. Look around. Check out the exhibit on the Sacco and Vanzetti trial.
Close up by George Peet
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- Constructed: 1707 -1709
- Architect(s): Guy Lowell. Additions: Hugh Stubbins and Associates, The Architects Collaborative; I.M. Pei; Foster and Partners with Childs Bertman Tserkaris
- Function: Art Museum
- Notable Art Works: These are too numerous to mention but include European Impressionist paintings, Ancient Egyptian galleries, the largest collection of Japanese art outside of Japan, an entire chapel from Catalonia, and a formal Japanese garden.
- Recommendation: Take a docent tour. Then spend hours wandering through the galleries before having lunch in the courtyard.
Related Posts:
The Grand Staircase
Boston Public Library Copley Square
- Constructed: 1887-1895
- Architect(s): McKim, Meade & White
- Function: Third building housing the first publicly funded, free municipal library in the United States
- Notable Art Works: Murals by Pierre Puvis de Chavanne, Edwin Austin Abby and John Singer Sargent, “Bacchante” by Frederick MacMonies, “Art” and “Science” by Bela Pratt.
- Recommendation: Take one of the free docent tours. Then explore.
“Reclining Lion” by Louis St. Gaudens
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Constructed: 1902
- Architect(s): Willard T. Sears
- Function: Art museum holding one woman’s personal collection.
- Notable Art Works: The most famous and important work in this beautiful museum is “The Rape of Europa” by Titian but there is so much more to see. Even after the 1990 heist, the Gardner holds paintings by Rembrandt, Velasquez, Raphael, Manet, and John Singer Sargent.
- Recommendation: Plan to spend time wandering its three floors and the gorgeous atrium with its seasonally changing floral plantings. Take a docent tour.
Statue in the courtyard
Massachusetts State House
- Constructed: 1795 – 1797
- Architect(s): Charles Bulfinch; Charles E. Brigham for the Central Annex; Chapman, Sturgis and Andrews for the wings
- Function: Head of government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Notable Art Works: See “The State House’s Historic Murals.” There are also statues, stained glass, and bas-relief sculptures.
- Recommendation: Take a free docent tour, then explore. Or go to one of the free library talks and take a long walk to the library.
Related Post:
Civil War Mural by Richard Andrew
Boston’s Beautiful Buildings
There you have it: five beautiful buildings in Boston that combine architecture with art and history. If you haven’t been inside any or all of them, make a list and do one a weekend. Find a nice place to eat nearby (or inside) and make a day of it.
Be adventurous. Sometimes people will come up to you and offer information about the structure or the artwork you’re looking at. That’s a great opportunity to make a new friend and learn something at the same time.
Then tell Billy and Jenny
