Fort Point Channel Landmark District

The proposed Fort Point Channel Landmark District (FPCLD) encompasses roughly 55 acres across the Fort Point Channel from downtown Boston. This area, including the land, was entirely developed by a single corporation: the Boston Wharf Company, which filled the site mainly from 1837-1882. The Boston Wharf Company initially specialized in the storage of sugar and molasses, and gradually expanded its interests to become a major developer of industrial and warehouse properties served by ships docking in Boston Harbor, and by the railroad. The Boston Wharf Company laid out and constructed streets which they named for company officers and prominent tenants, parceled out lots, and erected nearly all of the buildings in the FPCLD from the designs of their own staff architects. Among the chief industries located in the FPCLD was the wool trade. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Boston developed into the principal marketplace for wool for apparel and fabrics in the United States. The buildings of the FPCLD represent an unusually coherent and well-preserved collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century lofts that reflect a critical period of social, economic, and physical development in the city and the region.

The FPCLD is currently under study for designation as a Landmark District. A Study Committee comprised of six persons who expressed an interest in the district and five members of the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) was appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and approved by City Council. The Study Committee will be refining the Study Report prepared by consultants to the BLC, confirming boundaries, and developing design guidelines for the district over the next 12 months.

Note to property owners: while the Study Committee is undertaking its work, please submit proposed projects that will impact the pending district to Gary Russell, Staff Architect of the Boston Landmarks Commission, Boston City Hall, Room 805, for design review. See Interim Review Procedures for Pending Projects, and Pending Projects undergoing BLC Staff Review under Resources for additional information.

Resources