Franklin Place

View of Franklin Street, Boston, an 1855 illustration demonstrating the street's bustle of carriages and pedestrians

Franklin Place, designed by Charles Bulfinch and built in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1793–95, included a row of sixteen three-story brick townhouses that extended in a 480-foot[1] curve, a small garden, and four double houses. Constructed early in Bulfinch's career, Franklin Place came after he had seen the possibilities of modern architecture in Europe and had determined to reshape his native city.[2] It was the first important urban housing scheme undertaken in the United States,[3] and the city's first row-house complex.[4] However, years of decline and the push of industry into the area forced its demolition in 1858.

  1. ^ Whitehill, Walter Muir and Kennedy, Lawrence W. Boston: A Topographical History, p. 53. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 2000.
  2. ^ Roth, Leland M. A Concise History of American Architecture, p. 60. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1979, ISBN 0-06-430086-2.
  3. ^ Maddex, Diane and Lewis, Roger K. Master Builders: A Guide to Famous American Architects, p. 20. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 1996, ISBN 0-471-14402-9.
  4. ^ Goodman, Phebe S. The Garden Squares of Boston, p. 31. UPNE, 2003, ISBN 1-58465-298-5.