Nomination for Cyclorama Building

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

PH0026646 Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Rev.

6-72) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM STATE: Massachusetts COUNTY: Suffolk FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY DATE (Type all entries complete applicable sections) APR 1 3 1978 NAME COMMON: Cyclorama Building AND/OR HISTORIC: 10 RECEVED LOCATION STREET AND NUMBER: 543-545-547 Tremont Street CITY OR TOWN: Boston (South End) STATE Massachusetts CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY (Check One) District Site Building Structure Public Private Both MAR 8-71973 NATIONAL REGISTE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRIGT: 8 9 COUNTY: CODE 025 Suffolk CODE 025 OWNERSHIP STATUS Object Public Acquisition: In Process Being Considered Occupied Unoccupied Preservation work in progresr ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC Yes: XX Restricted - Unrestricted No PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Agricultural Government Commercial Industrial Educational Military Entertainment Museum Park Private Residence Religious Scientific Transportation - Comments - Other (Specify exhibition hal 4 OWNER OF PROPERTY OWNER'S NAME: Boston Redevelopment Authority STREET AND NÜMBER: Ninth Floor, City Hall CITY OR TOWN: Boston LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Suffolk Registry of Deeds STREET AND NUMBER: STATE: Massachusetts CODE 025 Massachusetts Suffolk Pemberton Square CITY OR TOWN: STATE Boston Massachusetts CODE 025 STATE COUNTY: REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE OF SURVEY: Inventory of Historic Assets of the Commonwealth DATE OF SURVEY: 1972 Federal * State DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: 40 Beacon Street CITY OR TOWN: ISTATE: Boston pPR County - Local 1 3 197- ENTRY NUMBER Massachusetts CODE 025 DATE 468 FOR NPS USE ONLY N 30 DESCRIPTION (Check One) Deteriorated CONDITION Excellent - Good (Check One) Fair Ruins - Unexposed (Check One) *] Altered Unaltered Moved * Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

The Cyclorama Building, built in 1884, faces southeast on Tremont Street in Boston's South End. It is bordered to the west by the Tremont Estates and Pennock buildings. The National Theater is adjacent to the east. The two-story brick and concrete Cyclorama Building is capped by a glass dome above a The origina "Victorian feudal" facade had a keep and guard tower, but these were removed and the building was altered to its present appearance in 1922-23 when the Boston Flower Exchange moved in. At this time changes were made to the roof and the lantern was removed. In 1929 a second story was added to the office in the front of the building. A one-story addition was made to the rear of the building in 1949. The 135-foot long facade contains nine bays.

The bays at each end contain two- story arches outlined by inset blocks of concrete which form a pattern of squares topped by a concrete lintel. Windows fill the entire arched space at the second floor level. A wide panel divides the window area from the first floor doors which open directly onto the sidewalk. The central bay has a similar arrangement of windows and doors. However, a concrete parapet interrupts the arched corbelling that extends across the full width of the facade, and continues above the roof line. This parapet is divided into a series of recessed rectangular panels, some of which contain heral- dic shields and other decorative motifs. The brick wall on either side of this central and most prominent bay is divided into three bays containing round-arched second story windows and rectangular windows and door openings at ground level.

The Cyclorama was built for the express purpose of housing a huge circular painting -- "The Battle of Gettysburg." Although this panoramic form of painting is no longer exhibited here, the interior has not been changed significantly except that the 50-foot high brick rotunda is now covered over with a 127-foot diameter glass dome which replaced the original tin structure in 1922. Although basically in sound condition, the estimate for interior repairs and renovations is $500, 000. A small theater, restaurant and the administrative offices of the surrounding Boston Center for the Arts complex are planned adaptive uses for this building. * This central space is the most outstanding physical feature of the building. 0O 10 RECÊIVED MAR 27 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER (Eu M M

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) Pre-Columbian! 15th Century 16th Century 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century X 20th Century SPECIFIC DATE(s) (It Applicable and Known) 1884; 1922-23; 1929; 1949 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) 10 Abor iginal Education 1Polifica - Prehistoric Engineering Historic Beldlp5Phi Industry losophy Agriculture Invention MAR seich c4973 Architecture Landscape Art Architecture NA Trek eman, Commerce Literature REGISTE itoridi Communications Military Conservation Theater Music FransBortation - Urban Planning XXOther (Specity) entertainment STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Statement of significance

The Cyclorama is both a unique structure architecturally and a Victorian social document. The first building erected on the property was a large brick ae hiepturally structure known as the Moody Sankey Tabernacle, dedicated in January, 1877. The scene of evangelical revival meetings, the venture was not a financial success and the building was demolished. The Cyclorama building was erected on the same site in 1884 by Boston architects Charles A. Cummings and Willard T. Sears for Charles F. Willoughby, a wealthy Chicago merchant, to provide exhibition space for a cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg. A cyclorama is defined as a pictorial representation of the whole view visible from one point by an observer who in turning around looks successively to all points of the horizon.

The artist supposes himself surrounded by a cylindrical surface in whose center he stands and he projects the landscape from this position onto the cylinder. The observer stands on a platform which might represent the flat root of a house or the top of a hill, for example, and the space between this platform and the picture contains real objects which gradually blend into the picture itselt. Lighting effects are ingenious and to heighten the drama of the whole spectacle, passages leading to the platform are darkened. This distinctive method of painting The painting, "The Battle of Gettysburg, " was 400 feet in circumference and 50 feet high. It was executed by the French artist, Paul Philippoteaux, a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the author of a number of other cycloramic paintings, as was his father, Henri.

In fact, Henri created a cyclorama of the "Siege of Paris, " which found its way to Boston in 1878, and was the first cyclorama exhibited in the city. Paul Philippoteaux was commissioned to paint the Battle of Gettysburg at a contract price of $50, 000 and came to this country to make sketches, plans and drawings of the battlefield, study official war maps in Washing- ton and interview officers of both armies. With this documentary information he returned to Paris, where the great work was completed in two years. The exhibi- tion opened in Boston on December 22, 1884, and was a tremendous popular success for several years. In 1924 the National Park Service acquired the painting and it is now exhibited at the Gettysbung National Military Park in Pennsylvania. Other cycloramas exhibited in the building included "The Battle of the Little [continuation sheet]

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Advertiser-Post-Journal, Boston, December 26-30, 1884. Boston Evening Transcript, January 27, 1877; December 30, 1884; April 27, 1895; July 3, 1913. Boston Globe, December 20 & 21, 1884; February 14, 1885. Boston Herald, December 21 & 24, 1884. Miller, Walter H., The Gettysburg Cyclorama, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1969, booklet prepared in cooperation with the Gettysburg National Military Park.

10 GEOGRAPHICAL DATA LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY CORNER LATITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds R NW " Degrees 71° NE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PHOPERTY QF LESS THAN TEN ACRES LATITUDE LONGITUDE Minutes Seconds 04' 091/2 Degrees 42 Minutes Seconds " 20 40 SE SW " APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PRO PERTY: less than one acre ILIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE: CODE COUNTY CODE STATE: CODE STATE: CODE STATE: CODE FORMPREPARED BY NAME AND TITLE: Andréa K.

Calfee, Consultant ORGANIZATION Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: 40 Beacon Street CITY OR TOWN: Boston STATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTIFICATION As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na- tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the Nationa1 Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the c-iteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended level of significance of this nomination is: National State Local Name Hk.Dov Secretary of the Commonwealth and Chaicman, Massachusetts Historical Title Commission Date March 12, 1973 COUNTY: CODE RECEIVED COUNTY!

CODE 00 COUNTYH MAR 2 7 1973 NATIONAL REGISTE: CODE DATE December 19, 1972 STATE CODE 025 Massachusetts NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION I hereby certify that this property is included in the Nationa1 Register. Robertis Uthey Director, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation Date 4/15/73 ATTEST: Datt C TIONS GPO 931-894 Form 10-300a (July 1969) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Continuation Sheet) STATE Massachusetts COUNTY Suffolk FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER DATE APR 1 $ 19/3 (Number all entries) 8. Significance -- Boston, Cyclorama Building Big Horn" by E.

Pierpoint, a New York artist, in 1889; "Jerusalem, The Holy City at the time of Christ, " in 1891; and in 1895, an accurate and fiery representation of the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea, by Walter Burrage, who spent four months at the volcano's edge studying the topography. Declining public interest in cycloramas led to the use of Boston's Cyclorama Building for exhibitions, roller skating, a bicycle arena and a garage. Albert Champion invented his A. C. sparkplug here in 1907. The building was last used commercially to house the Boston wholesale flower market, where colorful and fragrant plants and flowers filled the area under the dome. the Cyclorama, which reflects the amusements of Victorian Boston, has been selected for re-use as part of the city's modern cultural complex -- The Boston Center for the Arts.

819/110 RECÊIVED MAR 2 7 1973 NATIONA' REGIST TFIE GPO 921.724 h PROPERTY C yclorama Baildiny WORKING NUMBER 3.27.73.2632 TECH REVIEW Photos 2 Maps 1 STATE MASS , RECENET MAR 2 * 1973 NATION REGISTEF SuffalkTa CONTROL REVIEW 3.29-23 HISTORIAN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN ARCHEOLOGIST Secept- AmL 3/29/73 - notfie suo Acep3-013 1/2/23 REVIEW UNIT CHIEF BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER 193 National Register write-up Federal Register entry 6-5-73 Send-back Re-submit Entered APR 13 1973 THEATRE WORKSHOP BLSTUN CYCLORAMA BOSTON 543-545-547 Tremont Sheed CYCLORAMA BUILDING BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Iue. novenbes 1971, M2442-10 NPS Number4/13/73 5 Titze: Syclorama Blog LOC. Suffolle, mess. TreMont St. FASODE PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JET COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS 35 LEON ST. BOSTON, MASS. CO 7.5230 X/2442-10 NPS Number -4/13/73 Title:Cyclorama Blog. Loc.

-Suffolk, mess INtEMIOR Of DOME PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER Cyclorama Burelis, Boston, Ma interion of donie Form 10-301 (July 1968) 1. NAME COMMON UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY MAP FORM (Type all entries - attach to or enclose with map) AND/OR HISTORIC NUMERIC CODE (Asatgned begfiPs) Cyclorama Building 2. LOCATION STATE Massachusetts STREET AND NUMBER 543-545-547 Tremont Street 3. MAP REFERENCE SOURCE COUNTY Suffolk DATE U.S. G.S. Boston South, Mass. 1956 REQUIREMENTS: PROPERTY BOUNDARIES, WHERE REQUIRED, AND NORTH ARROW, TOWN Boston (South End) SCALE 1 : 24,000 00 RECEiVED MAR 2 7 1973 NATIONA' REGISTE GPO 932.010 WASO-9 (Nov. 1966) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WASHINGTON OFFICE FOLLOW-UP SLIP To: Date 3.10.73 I. called Ms.

Sweenly dor more informatim - asuoual - 20 response' Form indicates that cyclorami Bidg s to be peserue, used as center In He Arts NOT TO BE FILED Signature S.shull SIVE UIRERTATE John F. X. Daroren Secretary of the Commonwealth The Commonvealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary Massachusetts Histonical Commission 9--fog-Strert- Boston, Mass. 02108 40 Beacon Street March 21, 1973 National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 18th and C Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Attention: Mr. Jerry Rogers CERTIFIED MAIL Dear Jerry: Enclosed are National Register submissions for: Suffolk County, Boston, Cyclorama Building: Suffolk County, Boston, Highland Park. These have been declared eligible for submission by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the State Review Board, and has been signed by Secretary of the Commonwealth John F. X.

Davoren, Chairman of the Massachusetts Historical Commission and designated the State Liaison Officer. Please note that the properties covered by these submissions are to be included in our 1974 apportionment warrant. Therefore, we would appreciate your processing these nominations promptly. Please let us know if any other information is needed. Sincerely, Bob, Robert B. Rettig Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission RBR/akc enclosures 0 RECEIVED WAR 2 7 1973 NATIONAL REGISTE ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE MASSACHUSEITS APR 1 3 1973 Date Entered Name Cambridge Comon Histozie District Wenhan Iiscoric Diatriec "O14 Stone Church" Hamiiton Historic Distriet Cyciorana Building Location Canbridge Mlddlesex Couty Wonhan Essex County West: Doyiston Worcheater County HaniIton Ensex: County Bostoa (South End) Suffolk County Also Notified Hon. Edward M. Kennedy Hon.

Bdward W. Brooke Hon. Thonas P. 0Wei11, Jx. Eon, Michael J. Marringcon Hon. Robert Drinan Mr. Floyd H. Hyde, HUD Director, Northeast Region PHR State Historie Preservacion Officer Hen. Joln I.&e Devoren Secretaryof the Conmonvealth Chatzan, Massachuaette Iistoricel Comadesion 40 Seacon Street Boston, Hasaachusettts 02108 NRowland: pcl 4/27/73 qune vban a contalsneet Canl