Pages

▼

Monday, 10 October 2011

Boston City Hall

In addition to city government, numerous commissions and state authorities—including the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Public Health Commission, and the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)—play a role in the life of Bostonians. As the capital of Massachusetts, Boston plays a major role in state politics. The city has several properties relating to the United States federal government, including the John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building and the Thomas P. O'Neill Federal Building. Boston also serves as the home of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts; Boston is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (the First District of the Federal Reserve).
Federally, Boston is part of Massachusetts's 8th and 9th congressional districts, represented respectively by Mike Capuano, elected in 1998, and Stephen Lynch, elected in 2001; both are Democrats. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat John Kerry, elected in 1984. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Republican Scott Brown was elected in 2010 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of long-time Democratic senator Ted Kennedy.
Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 15, 2008
Party Number of Voters Percentage
Democratic 209,710 55.04%
Republican 27,541 7.23%
Unaffiliated 140,601 36.90%
Minor Parties 3,161 0.83%
Total 381,013 100%



Reception of the Plaza


The surrounding City Hall Plaza has experienced a similar change in assessment over time. Although its recessed fountain, trees, and umbrella-shaded tables drew crowds in the early years, more recently the space has been cited as problematic in terms of design and urban planning. To illustrate the range of opinion regarding the Plaza, in 2004 the Project for Public Spaces identified it as the worst single public plaza worldwide, out of hundreds of contenders. On the other hand, in 2009, The Cultural Landscape Foundation included City Hall Plaza as one of thirteen national "Marvels of Modernism" in its exhibition and publication. Several rounds of efforts to liven up City Hall Plaza have yielded only minimal changes, with the challenge being, in part, the numerous approvals required at the city, state and federal level.




Relocation and demolition


On December 12, 2006, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino proposed selling the current city hall and adjacent plaza to private developers and moving the city government to a site in South Boston.
On April 24, 2007, the Boston Landmarks Commission reviewed a petition backed by a group of architects and preservationists to grant the building special landmark status (much to the dismay of Mayor Menino). The petition will be studied further before a final vote is taken.
On July 10, 2008, Landmarks Commission official said the petition to grant the building special landmark status had been recommended for study, but probably would not be considered by the panel unless a plan to demolish the structure was imminent. Members of the group Citizens for City Hall also opposed Mayor Menino's plan to build a new City Hall on the South Boston waterfront because it would be a major inconvenience for tens of thousands of city residents.
In December 2008, Menino suspended his plan to move city hall in 2011. In a worsening recession, he stated, "I can't consciously move ahead on a major project like this at this time".
An advocacy group, Friends of Boston City Hall, was established to help develop support for preserving and enhancing City Hall, and improving the Plaza.
As of March 2011, plans are underway to re-think the building and its surrounding plaza.




Events near the building


City Hall is located in Government Center in downtown Boston. The adjoining 8-acre (3.2 ha) City Hall Plaza is sometimes used for parades and rallies; most memorably, the region's championship sports teams, the Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox, have been feted in front of City Hall. A huge crowd in the plaza also greeted Queen Elizabeth II during her 1976 Bicentennial visit, as she walked from the Old State House to City Hall to have lunch with the Mayor.



All about Boston:
at

No comments:

Post a Comment