Architecture
Interior Design
Moderate Rehabilitation
- Type
Kenmore Abbey
Boston, MA
Originally constructed in 1915, Kenmore Abbey Apartments was part of a wave of new residential development precipitated by the extension of the Boylston Street subway to Boston’s Kenmore Square. As such, the Kenmore may be thought of as an early example of a transit-oriented development. Within a few years of its construction an addition was built as well as a third floor bridge linking it across a rear lot alley to the Wadsworth Hall on Newbury Street. The two buildings were subsequently converted to a hospitality use as the storied Kenmore Hotel. In 1983, the firm oversaw its historic restoration and conversion to its original residential use as the Kenmore Abbey, an age-restricted senior apartment building. The design team took special care in the preservation and stabilization of the Kenmore’s distinctive green tile mansard roof and terracotta detailing as well as reconstructive repair of the copper-clad bridge connecting it to Wadsworth Hall. Working around the logistical demands of a new interior plan layout, the design incorporated existing interior marble finishes and plaster trim into the new layout. The project received National Park Service approval as a certified historic rehabilitation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The firm recently completed another series of renovations 30 years after the original restoration.
Related Projects
-
