Architecture Restoration – Building The Godfrey

Preservation Achievement Award

We’re thrilled to announce that we have been honored with the Boston Preservation Alliance’s Preservation Achievement Award this year for the work we did restoring our historic Ames and Blake buildings. The Boston Preservation Alliance’s mission is to protect and improve the quality of Boston’s distinct architectural heritage, and we could not be more proud to have our restoration efforts recognized by their team.

“The unique historic character of Boston’s buildings is increasingly recognized for the additive value they bring to projects. Demand for these distinctive spaces is growing,” says Greg Galer, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance. “Development can be tremendously successful working within historic building envelopes, and in this case the project made additionally viable through the use of historic rehabilitation tax credits. The Godfrey stands as a prime example that historic resources can bring a premium return.”

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our partners at Finegold Alexander Architects and GETTYS for all of their time, dedication and help during our restoration project.

You can purchase tickets to the 2016 Preservation Achievement Awards event, which will take place on October 24th from 6-8PM at the Paramount Center. Tickets are on sale here. To learn more about the Boston Preservation Alliance and the Preservation Achievement Award, you can watch the below video and visit their website.

Restoring the Past

Boston is entrenched in history. From the Freedom Trail to the Bunker Hill Monument, it’s hard to go a block without reveling in one of the hundreds of historical monuments. And while The Godfrey Boston is mere blocks away from some of these main landmarks, you don’t have to leave our hotel to experience the city’s rich past.

As previously mentioned, our hotel is a complete restoration of the Amory and Blake buildings, which were once the center of Boston’s shopping district. Working together with Spillane, we’re bringing the Amory and Blake back to life and restoring their original beauty, which we shared a sneak peak of earlier this week. In fact, the three main areas we’re working to restore -the facade, the elevator lobby and the interior-facing light wells – are historically protected by the National Register of Historic Places.

godfrey hotel — The original facade of the Amory and Blake buildings

Godfrey Boston — Intricate details being restored on the facade of the hotel

Upon entering The Godfrey, you’ll see the building’s past married with its future. The walkway leading up to the front desk will start out as a matte, textured marble that displays the brick and other original materials used. The floor will then gradually transition to highly polished dark marble that signifies the decidedly modern design of The Godfrey and the future of these two historic buildings.

As you head up to your guest room, you’ll notice another nod to the past. The elevator vestibule boasts the original marble walls and ornate ceilings of the Blake. We’ll update this area to be mainly monochromatic white while maintaining and paying homage to the intricate detail.

If you’re staying in an interior-facing guest room, you’ll have the privilege to overlook our historically-preserved courtyard. It might not look like much at this point in the restoration, but it’s set to be a gorgeous respite from the bustling streets outside.

There are still a lot of changes in progress, but the restoration is coming along quickly. Stay tuned for more updates on our historically protected areas in future posts.

Every Detail Counts

To us, every detail counts as we continue to build our hotel. We are paying close attention to areas we feel are the most important to our future guests, along with other details that just make for a pleasant, smooth experience. Some may even go unnoticed to the leisure traveler as well – simply just elevating our hotel with luxurious touches.

The outside facade of our buildings are being restored and maintaining some of the original detail is important. As previously mentioned in this post, our hotel will be a complete renovation and build of the historic Amory and Blake buildings. We are restoring the outside of the buildings, including great attention to the architecture renovation.

We are working with Spillane, which has strong roots and history in building restoration throughout Massachusetts. Spillane has been restoring architecture for decades including other projects for Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, YWCA and more.

In the following photo, you can see the ornate detail that Spillane is restoring.

PostonArchitecture1 — A full view of the hotel’s restoration in progress, including the unique detail off the second floor, which is being conducted by Spillane.

More detail coming soon on our restoration and the main areas we’re focused on. Stay tuned!