Some blogs use Wednesdays for #WordlessWednesday and we thought today was the perfect opportunity to share our excitement and passion for opening a hotel in the great city of Boston. To that, here’s a (nearly) #WordlessWednesday post highlighting the beautiful landmarks that make Boston a most desirable place to visit.
Walk around with us and see some of the great spots in Boston, including:
George Washington statue is on the west side of Boston Public Garden.
At the corner of Washington and State streets, you’ll see the Old State House, which is a historic building in Boston.
The sun shining on Faneuil Hall – a must visit with seemingly endless spots to eat, street performers and more.
Right next to Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market, which is named in honor of Mayor Josiah Quincy.
Complete your visit in Boston with fresh lobster or oysters. This spot is conveniently located inside Quincy Market, however there are countless great spots throughout the city to try out.
Local Bostonians, what are your favorite spots to take visitors?
We created a short and sentimental video to showcase what makes Boston great: Endurance, hard work and brilliant minds.
The Godfrey Hotel is proud to call the city of Boston home starting in the fall of 2015. We encourage travelers to visit to the “city upon a hill” to Discover Your Element.
Take a look at our YouTube video:
Take a look at our YouTube channels – Chicago and Boston – for all our videos.
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.
The original facade of the Amory and Blake buildingsIntricate 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.
The ornate molding work above the elevatorsThe gorgeous ceiling being restored
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.
The interior light well being restoredHistorically preserved light well
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.
We’re pleased to share our feature in The Boston Globe that ran today online. The article, “Upscale hotel expected to open in Downtown Crossing this fall,” is the first look inside our hotel, including a photo of one of our guest rooms overlooking Washington Street.
The article states, “It took some imagination to see the dilapidated Blake and Amory building along Washington Street as the future home of a new upscale hotel in downtown Boston.
But the company that bought the historic building two years ago for $23 million has been working to revive it ever since. Construction will continue through the summer and the owners expect the new 242-room Godfrey Hotel Boston to open on the corner of Washington and West streets in the fall.”
The article gives more details on what our hotel design will look like, including:
Oak paneling
Plenty of couches and coffee tables
Porcelain flooring
Large windows that open out onto the street.
And, as our General Manager Larry Casillo poignantly said, “What we’re trying to do is happily marry historical grandiose architecture with a modern inside.”
With any great hotel restoration project, you need to take careful consideration into the history of the building and its surroundings. We’re doing just that in the development of our Boston property.
The Godfrey Boston will emerge from the historic Amory and Blake buildings in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood. It’s a unique area with unique buildings to go along with it. Of course, we want to preserve that. The transformation of both the Blake and Amory buildings is exciting – they were are the epicenter of Boston’s main shopping district originally. Many of the early tenants were fabric and garment trade outlets with the lower floors being different retail locations.
Building The Godfrey 