360 Newbury Street

360 Newbury Street (also known as the Transit Building and the Tower Records building) is a nine-story commercial and residential building located at the intersection of Newbury Street and Massachusetts Avenue in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by Arthur Bowditch, it was constructed in 1919 and first served as the headquarters of the Boston Elevated Railway. The eight-story building was later used as a warehouse and office space, and housed Tower Records from 1987 to 2001. An additional story was added in the late 1980s during a Frank Gehry-designed renovation; another was created from a mezzanine during a 2005 renovation. The lower three floors house retail space and an entrance to Hynes Convention Center station; the upper six floors contain private condominiums.

360 Newbury Street
360 Newbury Street in March 2016
General information
Address360 Newbury Street at Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°20′52.6″N 71°05′15.7″W
CompletedOctober 1919 (1919-10)
Design and construction
ArchitectArthur Bowditch

History

The west part of the Back Bay was filled in the 1870s. By the early 1880s, the southeast corner of Westchester Park (later Massachusetts Avenue) and Newbury Street was occupied by building contractor George Wheatland Jr., with the 1834-opened Boston and Albany Railroad bordering it to the south.[1] The building was later used by the Boston Cab Company (later the Charles S. Brown Company), a horse-drawn cab company.[2][3]

The building (right) in 1919

In July 1911, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill providing for the construction of several tunnels, including the Boylston Street subway.[4] Construction began in March 1912.[5] The Boston Transit Commission (BTC) negotiated an easement through the Boston Cab Company building on September 24, 1912. The building was later determined to be unsafe; the BTC acquired it on April 3, 1913, and demolished it soon after, allowing construction on the west part of Massachusetts station (now Hynes Convention Center station) to proceed.[6] The main headhouse of the station was built on the former cab company site. Wooden and concrete piles were driven through 7 feet (2.1 m) of silt to provide a firm foundation for the station, and to allow for future air rights development atop it.[7] The station and tunnel opened on October 3, 1914.[5]

Construction on a seven-story office building (originally planned as eight stories) atop the station lobby by the Newbury Realty Company began in 1917.[8][9] Designed by Arthur Bowditch, the building was completed in October 1919.[10][11] In November 1919, the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) announced plans to move into the building, as its lease at 101 Milk Street was expiring.[10] The BERy used the upper floors of the building, then known as the Transit Building, as its offices until 1926.[8]

By 1938, the building was owned by an insurance firm, but still known as the Transit Building.[12] It was later used for warehousing and offices, with restaurants and retail (including an E.U. Wurlitzer Music and Sound store) on the ground floor.[13] The construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike in the 1960s removed neighboring buildings to the south along Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street.[14] In February 1986, Sacramento-based Tower Records announced plans to open a store on the first three floors of the building.[13] The outlet – billed as the largest record store in the country – opened on December 14, 1987.[15]

The building viewed from above

In mid-1986, developer Richard Cohen began a major renovation of the building, which was designed by architect Frank Gehry. A 20-foot (6.1 m)-high eighth floor was added, with a cornice support by angled struts. The south and east sides of the building were sheathed in lead-coated copper; the street-facing west and north sides retained their original brick and stone, but added glass canopies supported by more angled struts.[16] A Boston Globe architecture critic praised the renovation for its boldness in architecturally-conservative Boston.[14] In 1991, the renovation was chosen as one of the 19 best works of the year by the American Institute of Architects – the top national prize in architecture.[17] The structure was popularly known as the "Tower Records building".[17][18]

The 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2) building was sold for $47 million in 2004.[11] The top five floors were converted into six floors, with 54 condominiums.[19] In March 2007, the lower three floors were expected to sell for $45–55 million.[11] Boston Residential Group sold the floors to Spanish holding company Ponte Gadea later that year.[20][21]

The Tower Records store closed in 2001.[22] The retail space was occupied by Virgin Megastore from 2002 to 2006, then Best Buy until 2012.[23][24] A TJ Maxx store opened in the space in May 2016.[25]

References
  1. "Part of Ward II". Atlas of the City of Boston. 1. G.W. Bromley & Co. 1883. Plate S – via Ward Maps.
  2. "Part of Ward II". Atlas of Boston Proper. G.W. Bromley & Co. 1902. Plate 22 – via Ward Maps.
  3. Boston with its Points of Interest: With Illustrations from Original Photographs. Mercantile Illustrating Company. 1895. pp. 390, 391 – via Google Books.
  4. Boston Transit Commission (1911). Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1911. pp. 5–6 – via Internet Archive.
  5. Boston Transit Commission (1915). Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1915. pp. 39–41 – via Internet Archive.
  6. Boston Transit Commission (1913). Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1913. pp. 38–39 – via Internet Archive.
  7. Boston Transit Commission (1914). Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1914. pp. 37–39 – via Internet Archive.
  8. Clarke, Bradley H. (2015). Streetcar Lines of the Hub: Boston's MTA Through Riverside and Beyond. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-938315-07-0.
  9. "Building News". The American Architect. Vol. 111 no. 215. March 14, 1917. p. 14 – via Google Books.
  10. ""L" Offices to Move from 101 Milk Street". Boston Globe. November 29, 1919. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr. (March 31, 2007). "Part of storied building up for sale". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007.
  12. "Part of Ward 5". Atlas of the City of Boston. G.W. Bromley & Co. 1938. Plate 22 – via Ward Maps.
  13. Dyer, Richard (February 5, 1986). "Tower Records plans Boston store for fall". Boston Globe. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Campbell, Robert (March 6, 1988). "Frank Gehry's fresh, oddball touch". Boston Globe. p. 92 – via Newspapers.com. (second page)
  15. Sit, Mary (December 15, 1987). "Tower Records opens doors". Boston Globe. p. 62 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Lots & Blocks". Boston Globe. May 3, 1987. p. 161 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Campbell, Robert (March 5, 1991). "Tower Records building hits the top of the charts". Boston Globe. p. 57 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "The Ticker" (PDF). Boston Herald. January 9, 2007.
  19. Azoff, Rachel (January 17, 2007). "Work of Art: A Frank Gehry-designed office building reopens as a residential masterpiece". Multifamily Executive.
  20. Reidy, Chris (July 31, 2007). "Spanish firm buys 360 Newbury space" (PDF). Boston Globe.
  21. "Boston Residential Group nears closeout of 83,000 s/f property" (PDF). New England Real Estate Journal. August 24, 2007.
  22. Medina, Jennifer (July 9, 2001). "With its lease up, Tower faces the music". Boston Globe. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. Reidy, Chris (October 13, 2006). "Music megastores besieged". Boston Globe. p. E1, E3 – via Newspapers.com. (Second page)
  24. Adams, Dan (April 15, 2012). "Best Buy closing Newbury Street, Wareham stores". Boston Globe. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. Savini, Loren (May 4, 2016). "First Look: T.J. Maxx Opens on Newbury Street by Hynes Station". Boston Magazine.
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