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NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-08,36 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form JUL 2 1 2005 This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a).
Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic name South Boston Boat Clubs Historic District other names/site number. 2. Location street & number 1793-1849 William .J. Day Boulevard - _ not for publication city or town Boston (South Boston) - vicinity state Massachusetts .codeMA - countySuffolk code 025 _ zip code _02127 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this @nomination - request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property - meets - does not meet the National Register Criteria.
I recommend that this property be considered significant - nationally O Statewide Wocally. (O See continuation sheet for additional comments.) soetay tedlleng, noz sai orna resanasegi se hational Regisse birectn 1/14/05 State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property meets - does not meet the National Register criteria. (- See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification signauye of the Keeper latuickW. Anduus Date of Action 7||2005 O determineonot eigon stor the National Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): South Boston Boat Clubs HD Name of Property 5.
Classification Oheck as hany fores as appy x private - public-local x public-State - public-Federal (Check only one box) _building(s) x district - site _ structure -object Suffolk, MA County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing 6 2 _building _ sites _ structures objects Total Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) n/a 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) RECRREATION & CULTURE/outdoor recreation 8 Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) RECREATION & CULTURE/outdoor recreation Z.
Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) Queen Anne Shingle Style Italian Renaissance Revival Colonial Revival Tudor Revival Bungalow/Craftsman Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation wooden pilings, stone walls wood shingles wood trim roof other- asphalt shingles iron and brick (front yard fence) granite block (sea wall) Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) NPS Form 1 10-900-2 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number_7 Page 1 Description The South Boston Boat Clubs Historic District is located in the City Point section of South Boston, Massachusetts.
Separated from downtown Boston by the Fort Point Channel, South Boston is a peninsula that projects from the northeast corner of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. Reading from west to east, the clubhouses include the Boston Yacht Club (BYC), now the Boston Harbor Yacht Club (BHYC) at 1793-1805 [William J.] Day Boulevard, the Puritan Canoe Club (PCC) at 1819 Day Boulevard, the Columbia Yacht Club (CYC) at 1825-1829 Day Boulevard and the South Boston Yacht Club (SBYC) at 1849 Day Boulevard. The clubhouses are situated on landfill composed of household ashes and soil excavated from various construction sites, including that of South Boston High School at nearby Dorchester Heights [NRDIS].
In addition to the clubhouse buildings themselves, other features integral to the historic character of the district include the one-story, gable-roofed wooden locker buildings located to the west and east of the BHYC and CYC respectively. Significant landscape elements include the BYC's west lawn, the iron fence enclosing the area on its western, northern, and eastern sides as well as the massive granite block retaining wall protecting the clubhouse from erosion by the waters of Dorchester Bay. Also included within the district are replacement piers and floats. The four boat club parcels encompass 400,649 square feet. Architecturally, the buildings are significant as an unusually extensive node of late Victorian era clubhouses dating from 1898-1901 (reportedly, the nucleus of the BYC dates to the 1870s).
Although individual yacht clubs of this vintage are scattered along the New England coast, a node of four late Victorian buildings of this type situated on contiguous lots is unique within the region, if not the entire nation. Despite mid-20" century alterations such as the enclosure of porches, removal of balconies, and the installation of picture windows, these buildings remain remarkably intact in terms of their form, fabric, elements, and siting. Clubhouse forms range from the modest domestic architectural style of the PCC; through the picturesque, asymmetrical massing of the BYC and the compact, rectangular, hip-roofed form of the CYC; to the substantial, rambling SBYC.
In terms of fabric, these clubhouses provide evidence of the wood shingle's post-1880 ascendance from lowly roofing material deemed suitable for modest dwellings and outbuildings to the fashionable uniform covering of choice for seaside mansions and clubs in resort communities from Newport, Rhode Island to Bar Harbor, Maine. The rare departure from smooth wood (continued) NPS5rm 1 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_ 2 shing s sturate rea inen idenece at te BYCrs uftoe parded, halival sered center gable; the Boundaries The South Boston Boat Clubs are located on public parkland under the care of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), bordered by the [William J.] Day Boulevard on the north and the waters of Dorchester Bay on the south. The northern edge of the property extends eastward from points opposite O and P streets' intersection with Columbia Road. Included within the historic district's boundaries are four boat clubs bordering Day Boulevard, including the BYC, PCC, CYC, and the SBYC.
Architectural Overview With the exception of community cultural resource surveys, the late 19" and early 20 century American yacht or boat club as a building type has received little in the way of architectural historical documentation despite the fact that at least a half-dozen examples of late Victorian yacht clubs survive in eastern Massachusetts alone. The reasons for this dearth of documentation are probably due to the fact that an interest in the design of boats rather than buildings has been the focus of numerous books devoted to American maritime history. Given that the boat clubs at City Point, South Boston either equal or only slightly exceed the scale of late Victorian coastal residences, a consideration of buildings of this type and vintage must necessarily be viewed within the context of coastal domestic architectural design of the time.
Indeed, with the noteworthy exception of the sprawling, hotel-like SBYC, these buildings are comparable in scale to late Victorian era seaside residences. All of the buildings are covered with wood shingles, a sheathing material prized beginning in the late 1870s for its ability to impart a rustic, informal appearance to residences located in inland suburban, as well as coastal, communities. Member Activities Shaped Interior Plans of the Boat Clubs Despite the fact that a clubhouse, to a certain degree, serves as "a home away from home" for an extended family of members, there are, of course, marked differences in usage regarding private residences vs. yacht club buildings. Interior plans, to a great degree, were dictated by the need to accommodate a variety of social and recreational activities as well as utilitarian purposes.
The clubhouses' architects designated rooms for club business and meetings, indoor recreational activities such as card playing, bowling and dining as well as the stowing of yachting gear and in some cases the seasonal storage of small craft. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-90-2 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page 3 As from core rooms analogous to the parlors, libraries, and solariums of private residences, a sizeable percentage of the clubhouses' square footage is devoted to the storage of boating gear. In each clubhouse, small rooms the size of office cubicles originally intended for the storage of boating paraphernalia are located within all of the buildings.
Lockers are placed within the clubhouse plans in a variety of ways. At the PCC, for example, small rooms open directly onto the large common rooms of the lower and upper floors. At the South Boston Yacht Club, thirty or more lockers per floor border long hallways located within the west wing while a dozen or more lockers border the hallways of the less extensive east wing. At the BYC and CYC, lockers are contained within separate, ancillary structures as well as in the clubhouses themselves. Porches also figure importantly within the design of the yacht club buildings and are located to take advantage of spectacular views of Dorchester Bay and the Boston Harbor Islands as well as affording vantage points from which to view boat races.
Over time, a high percentage of the clubs' originally open porches have been enclosed and in the case of the CYC completely removed from the waterside elevation. South Boston Boat Clubs: Overview of Historic Architectural Style The designs of the four clubhouses reflect the influence of late 19"h and nascent early 20" century American architectural styles. In terms of the remaining clubhouses, the boulevard and water facades are of more or less equal importance. Although at first glance the clubhouses seem to be characterized by a uniformity of design, due in part to their boxy, geometric forms and smooth wood shingle sheathing, closer inspection reveals buildings possessing a variety of approaches to massing, fenestration, and elements.
To a great degree, the designs of boat clubs illustrate the persistence of the picturesque, asymmetrical massing of the Shingle and Queen Anne styles as well as the rising influence of the boxier, more compact and symmetrical Colonial Revival and Craftsman/Bungalow styles. Indeed, much of the design interest of the South Boston boat club buildings lies in understanding the degree to which each building is stylistically old fashioned or au courant - or both simultaneously - relative to their place and time. Eastern Massachusetts witnessed the birth of the Shingle Style as the result of the innovative residential designs of H.H. Richardson, William Gibbons Preston, and other talented architects working for clients in coastal communities.
Synthesizing influences drawn from the domestic architecture of Medieval England and First Period New England, a new, uniquely American architectural mode was born during the 1870s and 1880s. Decades after its introduction, the new (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number_7 Page4 mode became known as the Shingle Style. First appearing in coastal resorts such as Newport, Rhode Island, Marion, Massachusetts, and Mount Desert, Maine around 1880, the rustic charms of the Shingle Style appealed to a new breed of moneyed and sophisticated summer vacationers.
Once relegated to the lowly status of roof covering for modest dwellings, the smooth wooden shingle was deemed a suitable sheathing material for stylish and substantial residences. Of the four boat clubs, the PCC, with its smooth wood shingle sheathing, sweeping west roof slope, and stone chimney, exhibits the same scale, form, and elements as many Shingle Style residences of the period. The Queen Anne style, as expressed at the BYC, and to a lesser degree at the PCC, represents a late Victorian manifestation of self-consciously picturesque styles such as the Carpenter Gothic of the 1840s along with the Swiss Cottage and Stick styles of the 1860s and 1870s.
Reliant on irregular, sometimes towered, forms along with saw-cut ornament for design interest, the wooden, suburban manifestation of the Queen Anne style as expressed at the boat clubs is very different from urban, masonry buildings designed in this style. The urban expression of the Queen Anne in the Back Bay and other neighborhoods is rooted in the 1860s British revival of late 17" and early 18" century Anglo-Dutch architecture. By the time the boat clubs were built along the Strandway (now Day Boulevard), the suburban Queen Anne style was fading from popularity as the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles came to the fore. All of the boat clubs' designs attest to the impact of the Colonial Revival. For example, with the exception of the PCC, all of the boat clubs possess Palladian windows. Here and there, cornice-headed surrounds for entrances and windows (i.e.
at the BYC) reference mid-18" century elements. Like the Shingle style, Craftsman style relies on simplicity of form and rustic effects for maximum visual impact. Emanating from upstate New York and California, the Craftsman style is evident in the compact, boxy wood shingled-sheathed volumes of the CYC and SBYC. Additionally, their deep eaves and hip roofs, and particularly the CYC's eyelid dormer anticipate the great impact that the Craftsman Bungalow style had on American architecture during the first quarter of the 19* century. That the SBYC's design (and originally that of the CYC) incorporates a monumental waterside loggia is owed in part to the impact of the Classical and Renaissance Revival styles on the design of public buildings at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
Situated on the shores of Lake Michigan and encompassing pools, canals, and fountains, the Fair's white-hued buildings and watery setting made an indelible impression on the imaginations of the architects nationwide. Clearly (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page 5 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA the SBYC's bayside façade was designed to be the most significant of all its elevations, rendered in a manner not unlike palazzos bordering the canals of Venice. Architectural Description: The Boston Yacht Club, 1793-1805 Day Boulevard Set back behind an iron fence of undetermined origin, the main entrance to the Boston Yacht Club is located just to the west of the clubhouse.
Marked by red brick piers ornamented with rock-faced stone banding and capped by dentil-accented Doric capitals composed of concrete, a lantern is suspended from the ornamental iron arch that rises from the west gate's piers (fig. 1). The BYC's fence is part of the continuous iron fence that encloses the eastern, western, and northern edges of the proposed South Boston Boat Club Historic District. Stylistically, the BYC is an interesting hybrid of the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Tudor Revival architectural styles. Of all the South Boston boat clubs, the BYC possesses the most picturesque form and surface treatments by virtue of its southeast octagonal corner tower and the street elevation's Tudor Revival half-timbered façade gable. Possessing an I-shaped form, the building rises three stories from solid ground to an intersecting hip and gable roof.
Rising from the street façade's roof slope to the east of the gabled wall dormer is an original brick chimney with a tapered upper shaft. At the BYC, asymmetrical massing and a towered component lend a Queen Anne-stylistic sensibility to the building while its stucco-parged, half-timbered gable at the street elevation strikes a Tudor Revival note (fig. 2). The influence of the Colonial Revival is also evident in the treatments of the front porch and west elevation's well-proportioned Palladian window (fig. 3). At first glance the BHC has the appearance of a clubhouse that was built all of one piece when, in fact, the building has had a more complex evolution. The midsection of the building (fig 4) apparently represents part of the original 1874 Stick Style building which was reportedly moved to its boulevard-bordered parcel in 1898.
If this is indeed the case, late 1890s wood shingle sheathing and fenestration have obscured all exterior signs of the original Stick Style clubhouse. On the interior, the narrow, darkly stained, vertical boards of the walls of the midsection's second story hall indicates that fabric from the 1874 clubhouse is still extant. Shortly after its move to the Strandway (Day Boulevard) in 1898, the building was modified and enlarged by the addition of its towered Queen Anne octagonal component (fig. 4) and two-story porch components at the water elevation. Additionally, the half-timbered Medieval Revival and Colonial Revival component on the (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 (8-86) NatitondS Farks Devartment of the inerior National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number_ 7 Page_6 boulevard side of the building dates to ca. 1898-1900. The street façade (fig. 2) is characterized by a high degree of symmetry with most of its design interest focused on the center entrance bay. Treated as a center pavilion with flanking wings, an open Colonial Revival entrance porch at the center of the street façade displays square posts and slender pilasters that support a flat roof (fig.3). Access to the porch is gained via short flights of wooden steps at the eastern and western edges of the porch's platform. The front door is fully enframed with raised moldings in the Georgian revival manner and is flanked by multi-pane sidelights.
Located at either side of the entrance porch are pairs of windows exhibiting cornice headed Colonial Revival lintels. In general, the main block's windows contain 6/1 double hung wood sash. Above the porch is a shallow projecting bay exhibiting a cornice-headed, tripartite multi-pane window. Flanking the tripartite window are large, boldly rendered wood shingle-sheathed brackets. The center entrance bay culminates in a half-timbered front-gabled wall dormer containing a bank of four narrow windows with diamond-shaped panes. The windows rise from small square apron panels, which in turn surmount a molded cornice. Flanking the center gable are small gable-roofed dormers with return eaves and semi-circular arches above the dormers' windows. Each dormer window contains a small square window containing diamond-shaped wood sash.
Dormers identical to those of the main façade are in evidence at the roof slopes of the main block's narrow side walls. A narrow secondary entrance and a standard size window pierce the main block's east wall (fig. 4). Projecting from the second story is a polygonal oriel window. Probably representing an alteration to the original fenestration, the west wall's first story elevation (fig. 6) exhibits a secondary entrance flanked by small square windows. In evidence at the second story is a handsome Palladian window whose upper, demi-lune window contains Gothicized muntins while diamond-shaped panes enliven the flanking windows. The Palladian window opens onto an extremely shallow balcony evidently designed to be more ornamental than functional. The underside of the balcony is accented with exposed joist-like elements.
The balcony railing's mid section is composed of turned Georgian Revival balusters flanked by solid, wood shingle-covered railings. Linking the main block with the towered bayside component, the clubhouse's midsection (figs. 4 and 5) rises from a high basement to a gable roof. The BYC's midsection was part of the T- shaped, 2½ story Stick Style clubhouse built in 1874. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-4 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number_7 Page7 An 1890s postcard from the collection of the Boston Public Library shows the old hortly after it was moved to the Strandway, before uniform surface treatments masked the midsection's original appearance.
More specifically, the BYC's middle structural component represents the long, end gable arm of the old T-shaped clubhouse which was perched on wooden pilings. At the east elevation of the three-bay mid section (fig. 4), two tiers of porches rise from a high basement. Four narrow windows open onto a recessed porch with high solid porch rails supporting a pair of square posts. The posts, in turn, rise to the underside of a second story porch featuring a railing with turned balusters flanked by solid, wood shingle covered segments; a railing treatment that echoes that of the balcony at the main block's west elevation. The mid section's eastern roof slope exhibits a pair of gable roofed dormers identical to those of the main block. The midsection's west wall (fig.
7) has been altered by the addition of a projecting, flat-roofed one-story component which extends from the main block's south wall to stairs providing access to the first story's enclosed bayside porch. Reading from north to south, the one-story component's basement wall is pierced by a small, square window, a transom-surmounted door, a modern sliding glass door, a tripartite window, a small double window followed by a door. The aforementioned doors presumably open into gear lockers for club members. The fenestration of the west elevation's second story appears to be the least altered. Here, the wall is pierced by seven small square windows. Each window is fully enframed and contains four panes. At the southern end of the first story, at the top of the flight of wooden stairs is a sidelight-flanked door; a door that is sheltered by the third story's encircling bayside entrance porch.
The west elevation's third story has been altered by the addition of four large picture windows. Like the east elevation, the west elevation's roof slope exhibits three small dormers containing small square windows enlivened by diamond shaped panes. The windows are surmounted by steeply pitched gable roofs with broken pediments. At the BYC's bayside (south) elevation (fig. 5), the basement wall is devoid of windows. Originally possessing open porches, the south wall's first and second stories are enclosed by modern picture windows. The most distinctive aspect of the bay side elevation is the octagonal towered component at the building's southeast corner. Sheathed with a smooth shingle skin, the (continued) (NPS Form 1 10900-4 OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_ 8 Boston Yacht Club: Interior Plan and Noteworthy Features The aboveground basement was not viewed for the purposes of this nomination but apparently contains gear lockers and utility rooms. The first story consists of three rooms: the main block's reception area, the midsection's meeting hall, and the enclosed porch overlooking the bay. While the center meeting hall and porch room exhibit modern floor and wall treatments, the reception hall on the north side of the building exhibits a stairway (fig. 8) leading to the second story with millwork elements dating to the early 1900s. On the second story, lockers border the halls of the main block and mid section.
The wooden walls of the midsection may represent fabric from the earlier building. These walls are pierced by four paneled doors providing access to gear lockers. The midsection's second floor hall leads to a large enclosed, solarium-like sun porch. Presumably more lockers are located in the attic of the main block and mid section. Boston Yacht Club: Gear Locker Structure Adjacent to the BYC's west lawn is an extensive one-story wooden shingle-clad structure built to contain lockers for stowing yachting gear. Situated at the northwest corner of the BYC lot and running parallel to Day Boulevard, this utilitarian structure has five components, including a long, rectangular five-bay by five-bay gable-roofed structure which has an east-west orientation (figs. 9 and 10).
The east-west component's rear wall is contiguous with four long and narrow hip-roofed ells which extend southward to the bay like the prongs of a comb, separated from each other by narrow paths leading to the entrances of individual lockers. Each of the north-south structural components measures the equivalent of five-bays by a single bay. Further research is needed on the evolution of this structure during the early 20" century. (continued) (VPS Form 1 10-900-4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page 9 Architectural Description: The Puritan Canoe Club, 1819 Day Boulevard Possessing the scale of a mid-sized Shingle style summer cottage, the Puritan Canoe Club is the most modest of the four clubhouse buildings in the District. Sheathed entirely with wood shingles painted brown, the PCC's rectangular form measures four-bays by four-bays (fig. 11). Like the other clubhouses, the PCC's headquarters rises directly from solid ground rather than a belowground basement. A roof with a distinctive Shingle style gambrel/gable configuration shelters the building (fig. 12).
The dramatic descent of the gambrel's western roof slope to a lean-to extension at the first story alludes to one of the Shingle style's primary influences: the domestic architecture of New England during the late 17" and early 18"h centuries. In addition to wood shingle materials and distinctive roof configurations, the picturesque appearance of the clubhouse is evident in the variety of window shapes (circular, diamond-shaped, as well as standard size) and the western roof slope's chimney (fig. 13) which is composed entirely of large stones. The PCC's north elevation displays an off-center entrance. Set within a broad arched recess, the front door opens onto a porch sheltered by the modified hip roof of the open porch (fig. 12).
The porch's roof projects from a molded cornice which extends from the eaves of the gambrel's lower slope to the intersection of the western roof slope's intersection with its lean-to extension. The porch's roof is supported by square narrow posts which rise from either end of a railing ornamented with three steering wheels composed of iron. "Wilcox, Crittendon & Co. Inc. U.S.A." appears in raised lettering on each of the iron wheels. To the right of the entrance is a pair of standard size windows. Articulated by raised moldings, these windows possess 6/1 double hung window sash. To the right of these windows, a small, circular window exhibits interlocking semi-circular and diamond-shaped wood sash; sash configuration that is repeated in the circular window to the left of the front door. Four wooden keystones enliven the surrounds of both circular windows.
Above the first story's entrance bay, three standard size windows exhibit molded enframements and contain 6/1 double-hung sash. Just below the apex of the street elevation's gable is a diamond-shaped, keystone-accented window containing large center panes set off on four sides by small square panes (fig. 13). Four standard size windows and four small square windows pierce the clubhouse's east and west walls, respectively. Rising from the eastern and western (continued) (PS7orm 1 19-900-4 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_10 roof slopes is a single shed-roofed dormer and a pair of pedimented dormers, respectively. Each dormer exhibits a standard size window with 6/1 double-hung wood sash.
The roof is sheathed An early 20" century photograph in the collection of the PCC shows three rectangular, transom- surmounted doors at the first story of the PCC's south elevation (fig. 14). Each transom possessed three panes. Presently only the waterside elevation's westernmost entrance remains (fig. 15). The other two were replaced by a wide, multi-panel sliding door installed to facilitate winter storage of small craft on the first floor (fig. 16). The rectangular transom contains three window panes. To the left of the remaining entrance is a single, square window containing 1/1 double hung wood sash. Projecting from the PCC's south wall is a low, open modern deck. Devoid of railings, the porch overlooks a small lawn as well as Dorchester Bay.
Above the waterside entrance is a shallow, projecting entablature-like element that is covered with wood shingles and surmounted by a wooden molded cornice accented with exposed rafters underneath (fig. 15). To the right of the cornice is a projecting and recessed second story porch. The porch's door is set back within a broad and deep segmental-arched recess (fig. 17). Standard size windows containing 6/1 double hung wood sash flank the porch's door. Near the apex of the roof slopes is a small triangular louvered opening. The Puritan Canoe Club: Interior Plan and Noteworthy Features The PCC possesses a simple, straightforward interior plan, which is repeated on both floors. Each floor possesses a large central room which extends from north to south and is bordered by four rooms on its east and west sides. These rooms were originally intended to serve as lockers for boating gear.
All of the interior walls are noteworthy for their dark tongue and groove woodwork and the exposed rafters of the ceiling (fig. 18) Architectural Description: The Columbia Yacht Club, 1825-1829 Day Boulevard Of the four South Boston boat clubs, the Columbia Yacht Club is the most difficult to categorize stylistically. Built in 1899, the wooden clubhouse's appearance alludes to at least three vernacular design trends evident in American architecture at the turn of the 20" century. The clubhouse's design acknowledges the waning influence of the Queen Anne/Shingle Style with its asymmetrical form, sweeping roof lines and variety of window shapes, the rise in popularity of (continued) (NP5orm 1 10-900- United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_11 the Craftsman/Bungalow style with its emphasis on compact, boxy forms and low-pitched hip roofs as well as the formality of the Colonial Revival style in its main façade's Palladian window and interior oval reception hall's curving stairway. Although completely sheathed with wood shingles, the clubhouse's compact three-story form eschews the rambling 1½ - 2½ story forms widely seen in early Shingle Style buildings of the 1800s and early 1890s. Instead, a new Craftsman Bungalow aesthetic is evident in the building's more contained rectangular form with only vestigial wings at its eastern and western elevations to serve as a reminder of the Shingle Style's predilection for more extensive ells.
Another indication of Craftsman influence is the low intersecting hip roofs of the main block and towered components along with deeply overhanging eaves. Typical of bungalow residences is the eyelid dormer located at the center of the street façade's roof slope. The symmetrical three-story main or north façade (fig. 19) along with its second-story entrance bay's Palladian window documents the impact of the Colonial Revival style on American domestic and institutional architecture. Additionally, the CYC originally possessed porches with Colonial Revival elements including a front porch with paired Tuscan columns. Balconies with Georgian Revival elements were originally in evidence at the dormer windows of the eastern and western elevations. Possessing a rectangular form, the CYC's dark brown wood shingles contract with white wooden trim.
Measuring three-bays by four-bays, the main body of the three-story building is enclosed by a broad, low-pitched hip roof. The smaller hip roofs of the main elevation's towered components intersect with the main block's hip roof. Additionally, the gable roofs of the single and paired wall dormers at the eastern and western elevations project from the main block's hip roof (figs. 19, 20). The CYC's three-bay main elevation is characterized by a two-story midsection flanked by three- story hip-rooted towered components. At the center of the main façade, a replacement front porch with square and narrow posts supports a gable roof. Standard size windows flank the main entrance.
In general, the building's windows are fully enframed and contain 1/1 double hung At the second story entrance bay a well-proportioned Palladian window is composed of a center window containing 1/1 double hung wood sash flanked by narrow tripartite windows. A solid, (continued) NPS Form 110-900-1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page 12 keystone-accented demi-lune panel tops the center window. Flanking the Palladian window are standard sized windows. The deep eaves of the main block's hip roof shelter the Palladian window. Striking a picturesque note, a low, arched dormer window rises from the center of the main elevation's roof slope. At the five-bay east elevation (fig.
21), a double window is located near the northeast corner at the first and second stories while the three remaining windows are standard size. At the third story, a single gable-roofed wall dormer rises from the center of the elevation and is flanked by small square double windows. The five-bay west wall (fig. 20) has been altered to meet fire codes. Dominating the west wall are three-story metal fire stairs added at an undetermined date. The west elevation's first story exhibits two double windows interspersed between three standard size windows. Visible at the upper stories, doors partly obscured by wooden panels lead to fire escapes. At the third floor, a pair of gable roofed wall dormers are perched atop deeply projecting eaves. During the late 1950s, the CYC's south elevation (fig.
22) was radically altered by the removal of a two-tiered Renaissance Revival loggia that is shown in an early 1900s post card on the collection of the Boston Public Library. Additionally, an open balustrade-encircled porch was originally located atop the roof of the second story loggia. In place of the loggia is an open, concrete-paved terrace sheltered by a deeply projecting second story enclosed porch addition. At the five bay first story, changes to fenestration included two picture windows and a back door. Five modern multi-pane windows pierce the second story's façade. At the first story, a trio of broad segmental arches provided access to a recessed porch. At the second story, paired columns rose to a flat roof, which, in turn supported the railing of the third story porch. Situated on top of the projecting second story addition is a porch enclosed by slat-work railings.
Overlooking the porch is a pair of gable roofed wall dormers. Columbia Yacht Club: Interior Plan and Noteworthy Features The CYC's first floor contains a central oval entrance hall flanked on its east and west sides by short corridors bordered by lockers. The side halls lead back to a large common area. A similar allocation of space is in evidence at the second story. Projecting from the south wall of the second story is a large, modern enclosed porch added during the late 1950s. Almost all of the (continued) (VPS Form 1 10-900-1 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_13 clubhouse's significant historic interior features are located in the formal, two-story oval stair hall.
Particularly noteworthy is a handsome, curving Georgian Revival stairway (fig. 23). A small room located under the stairs may have originally served as a cloakroom and presently contains a telephone. Also in evidence in the stair hall are oak benches and small, fully enframed rectangular windows set high on the walls (fig. 24). Architectural Description: Columbia Yacht Club's Gear Locker Facility Situated on the east side of the CYC is a separate, one-story, gear locker structure. Standing close to the front fence and representing the short arm of this early 1900s T-shaped structure, this structure's gable-roofed northern component (fig. 25) possesses an east-west orientation. Measuring the equivalent of five-bays by a single bay, the northern component is constructed of wood, sheathed with wood shingles, and is enclosed by an asphalt shingle-sheathed hip roof.
At the structure's narrow west wall, a flight of wooden steps provides access to the structure's interior. A single, standard size window pierces the east wall. The long "arm" of the T-shaped storage facility (fig. 26) was probably added during the 1910s. Measuring ten-bays by three-bays, this one-story gable-roofed structural component was originally enclosed by a flat roof. The three-bay south elevation originally culminated in a low, wood shingle covered parapet. The interiors of the gear locker structure are very intact, exhibiting wooden tongue and groove walls as well as single, standard size windows. These small rooms are located on either side of long corridors enclosed by wooden and groove walls (fig. 27). Still intact on the multi-panel doors of the northern and southern components are metal room identification numbers and letters, respectively.
The northern component houses 48 gear lockers while the 14 lockers of the southern component are lettered A through N. Indeed, it is the locker facilities throughout these properties that have been subjected to the least change. With their darkly stained millwork intact and rhythmic repetition of doors bordering extensive corridors these utilitarian storage facilities covey a palpable sense of age. Architectural Description: The South Boston Yacht Club, 1849 Day Boulevard Set back from Day Boulevard behind an iron fence, the South Boston Yacht Club is bordered by a narrow front yard on the north, public park land on the east, a granite block sea wall and the (continued) NPSForm 1 10-900-1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number_ 7 Page_14 waters of Dorchester Bay on the south, and the Columbia Yacht Club locker building on the west. SE XC wa aruies tefwen 189-1901 froin desgis proaidlin y the Boxtbnarestitectura ftmor Maginnis, Walsh and Sullivan. The easternmost of the four clubhouses, the SBYC's design blends elements of the Queen Anne, Shingle, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman styles. The imposing, monumental Renaissance Revival arcade or loggia at the center of the south wing's waterside elevation is its most memorable feature. The SBYC's design reflects American design in a state of flux at the turn of the 20* century, with more formal treatments such as the seaside loggia tempered by the rustic informality of unadorned wood shingle surfaces.
Radiating from the hip roofed main block are four boxy structural components, including extensive south (bay side) and west wings as well as a short east ell. Running along the full length of the west wing's waterside elevation is a projecting, T-shaped ell; an ell that is fairly shallow with the noteworthy exception of a deeply projecting dining hall. The dining hall's bayside elevation is bowed and contains a curved bank of six windows. The SBYC's main block exhibits massing similar to that of the Columbia Yacht Club. Like the CYC, the SBYC's street façade (fig. 28) is treated as a center entrance bay with flanking hip- roofed tower components. Instead of a projecting porch, as is the case at the CYC, the SBYC's center entrance is flush with the wall of a horizontal, shed-roofed ell running between towered components.
The shed-roofed component's wall exhibits banked fenestration with pairs of fully enframed,. standard size windows flanking the front door. At the SBYC a broad segmental arch molding surmounts the front door and flanking windows. In evidence above the entrance is a well- proportioned Palladian window. At the SBYC, the entrance bay's second story exhibits three windows surmounted by an ornamental semi-circular sunburst panel, a design evocative of the distinctive form of a Palladian window. A bank of four windows in evidence at the recessed entrance bay's third story echoes the banked fenestration of the first story. At each story of the main block's principal façade, the towered components exhibit a double window. In general, the clubhouse's windows are standard size, fully enframed, and contain 6/1 double-hung wood sash.
Both the main block and towered components are enclosed by hip roofs. Striking a Craftsman Style note are the exposed rafters of the building's hip roof components. (continued) (PS Form 1 19-900-4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_15 Projecting from the center of the hip roof is a metal pipe that ventilates the third story meeting hall. Partially obscured by the contiguous east ell and west wing, the main block's east and west elevations exhibit a single standard-size window at each story. The SBYC's east ell (fig. 29) measures three-bays by a single bay. Clad with wood shingles, the east ell rises three stories to a hip roof.
The east ell's street elevation exhibits two pair of double windows and a single window at each story. At the center of its east elevation is an entrance with a standard size window at each of the upper stories. Contiguous with the main block's south wall is a full-length wing overlooking Dorchester Bay. At the center of the south elevation is a three-story arcade (fig. 30). This exhibits square, three- story wood shingle-sheathed Doric columns with culminate in wooden Doric capitals. Round keystone arches spring from the columns and side walls. The arches are accented with narrow wooden moldings painted white. Above the arches, raised wooden letters read "SBYC" with flanking wall segments containing three multi-pane picture windows at each story. Set back story is devoid of windows. The arcade is flanked by three-bay wall segments exhibiting doors set off by multi-pane slide lights.
The doors open onto decks accessed via broad flights of stairs and are flanked by picture windows. Shed-roofed open porches shelter the picture windows at either end of the first story. A flat roof that is encircled by a metal railing shelters the south wing. The twin gables of the main block rise above the northern edge of the south wing's flat roof. Doors providing access to the south wing's roof pierce the gable's walls. The water side of south elevation of the west wing (fig. 31) extends westward ten bays from the main block to a point only a few inches away from the property line shared with the CYC. At the west wing's first story is a one-story ell that runs the entire length of the water side elevation. With the noteworthy exception of an off-center, deeply projecting, bowed south ell containing a dining room, the first story's ell measures only a single bay in width.
The dining room ell (fig. 32) exhibits a pair of double windows at its eastern and western elevations. A curving bank of six windows pierces the bowed south wall. Planar wood shingle-sheathed surfaces and single and double standard size windows characterize the second and third stories of the west wing's bayside elevation. (continued) (PS,Form 1 10-900-4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_16 The west wing's street or north elevation (fig. 33) measures ten bays in length. The planarity of its great sweep of wood shingle-sheathed wall is relieved by three, two-story square, shallow oriels.
In evidence at the west wing's first story, near its intersection with the main block is a single square window and a double standard window. The remainder of the west wing's first story's walls is devoid of windows. The oriels exhibit three windows at their second and third stories. At the third stories of the oriels the three windows are sheltered by the overhang of a modified hip roof which is supported by a pair of Colonial Revival columns. Wall segments flanking the oriels at the first and second stories exhibit three windows per segment. A trio of small dormers enclosed by low-pitched hip roofs rise from the asphalt-shingle covered street elevation's roof slope. South Boston Yacht Club: Interior Plan and Noteworthy Features The rooms of the SBYC's main block are ranged around a central staircase leading to the public rooms of the second story.
To the right and left of the entrance hall are small offices. Elements of architectural interest at the first story are confined primarily to the main block's wooden stairway with its intact, original newel posts, balusters, and railings. Framed photographs and memorabilia in evidence on the center hallway's walls illustrate the club's history. On the south side of the center stair hall is a more formal stair hall (fig. 34) that is housed within the south wing. The south wing's stair hall links the administrative offices of the first story with the primary recreation rooms and auditorium of the second and third stories, respectively. The south wing's stair hall is noteworthy for its darkly stained floors, tongue and groove walls, as well as the wooden elements of the staircases at the eastern and western ends of the hall (fig. 34).
Additionally, hanging nautical lights provide appropriate overhead lighting. The windows of the south wing's waterside elevation open onto a loggia whose monumental columns and arches clearly mark the water side of the clubhouse as the principal façade. While the water elevation was once the principal faced at the CYC before the removal of formal porches, the main facades of the PCC and BYC are oriented toward the street. The main block's second story contains public rooms on the east, north, and west sides of the central stairway. The lounge on the east side of the stairway contains furnishings that appear to be original to the clubhouse's 1899-1901 construction including a tall case clock and oak bench (continued) (PS Form 1 10-900-4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet South Boston Boat Clubs HD Boston/South Boston (Suffolk), MA Section number 7 Page_17 (fig. 35). On the north side of the stair hall, built-in bookshelves apparently date to the early 20th century. The meeting room on the west side of the stairway is particularly noteworthy for its The third story is devoted to a large auditorium or meeting hall space flanked by anterooms accessed via tall arched openings at the east and west walls. The auditorium contains built-in seating around the periphery of the room, wooden tongue and groove wainscoting (fig. 37) and a bank of five multi-panel doors at the south wall (fig. 38). Particularly noteworthy is the auditorium ceiling's wooden truss-work system as well as circular cast iron ventilation duct covers at the eastern and western ends of the ceiling.
On each floor of the three-story east ell, an L-shaped corridor is flanked by approximately one dozen multi-panel doors leading to gear lockers. The south wing's stair hall is noteworthy for its darkly stained floors, tongue and groove woodwork at the first story of the long rectangular west ell, a corridor flanked by small rooms leads from the main block's center stair hall to a lounge and bowling alley. The west ell's second and third stories contain remarkably intact fabric and room configurations with long corridors bordered by approximately 35 lockers per floor. Near the western ends of the hallways are back stairs with intact wooden elements, including newel posts and slat-work railings (fig. 39). The walls and ceiling of the hallways are faced with tongue and groove woodwork. The one-story addition at the waterside of the west ell contains dining room and kitchen facilities.
The basement of the SBYC contains lockers, a wide center hall and a dining hall called the Dutch Room located on the east side of this floor. In general, the basement seems to retain its original room configuration. (end) South Boston Boat Clubs HD Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance