Oh, City Hall, you brutalist, you. Such a structure that Bostonians love to hate, with its oppressive slabs of gray architecture. Well, Marty Walsh has a plan to lighten the mood, quite literally.
Once a planned $400,000 contract is signed, the hulking location will be awash in an oasis of color through permanent light fixtures.
This design classic from 1962 is supposed to be all dressed up in lights as early as August. Later upgrades could include more green space outside (to accompany the always-welcome Adirondack chairs and museum space inside.
Like other city beacons, the lights are intended to be curated for special occasions: Red for the Red Sox, green for St. Patty's day. You get the idea.
And the idea is stemming from a genuine place: Walsh liked the idea as a permanent fixture after the passing of former Mayor Menino, who had City Hall lit up in green as a monument to him.
So will this change public opinion about the site as planned? Or does it just draw more attention to a time when architectural aesthetics went awry?
· Walsh to ink $400G deal to brighten up City Hall [Boston Herald]
· Fighting City Hall, Specifically Its Boxy Design and Empty Plaza [NY Times]
· Boston Mayor Tom Menino's Greatest Real Estate Hits [Curbed Boston]
· How 'What the Hell Is That?' Changed Boston Development [Curbed Boston]
· Our Curbed's Could Have Been archive [Curbed Boston]
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