• Unsympathetic infill devalues this once elegant façade
• Intrusion of I-90 through neighborhood in 1960s has left this building somewhat isolated and overlooked
• Owner has agreed to cooperate with Allston Main Street for minor façade improvements
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| Allston Hall Block | Allston-Brighton |
| • Fine Second Empire
commercial building in Allston Village National Register District • Unsympathetic infill devalues this once elegant façade • Intrusion of I-90 through neighborhood in 1960s has left this building somewhat isolated and overlooked • Owner has agreed to cooperate with Allston Main Street for minor façade improvements
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| Name: Allston Hall Block | Bldg SqFt: 11,968 | Lot SqFt: 3,266 | ||
| Address: 10-14 Franklin Street | Ward: 22 | Parcel: 1855 | ||
| Neighborhood: Allston-Brighton | Zoning: Local Industrial Subdistrict (LI-1) | |||
| Year Built: 1890 | Use: Occupied by owner for auto parts warehouse | |||
| Style: Second Empire | Condition: Fair | |||
| Architect(s): Unknown | Owner: | Jack
Young Trust Allston, MA 02134 354 Cambridge Street |
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| Historic Certification: National Register eligible district (Allston Village) | ||||
| FY99 Building Assessment: $280,500 FY02 Building Assessment: $295,700 |
FY99 Tax: $12,186 FY02 Tax: $12,147 |
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| FY99 Land Assessment: $48,500 FY02 Land Assessment: $104,800 |
Tax Status: Current | |||
Preservation Strategy:
Monitor the building for signs of either a) deterioration or b) a change in the nature of auto parts business suggesting that there is a need or opportunity to utilize the potential for their building in new ways. Consider preparing a feasibility study on the viability of re-using the building for some combination of retail, commercial, or housing.
Significance:
The Allston Hall Block is a fine example of a Late Victorian commercial building, employing elements of both the Queen Anne and Second Empire styles. Its imposing height, steep mansard roof, and brownstone dormers make it one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the proposed Allston Village National Register Historic District. The Allston Hall Block is also significant as part of the late-nineteenth century commercial development of the Allston Square area at the intersection of Cambridge, Franklin, and Harvard Streets. It stands across from the former Allston Depot of the Boston & Albany Railroad, construction of which in 1887 spurred more substantial commercial development in the immediate vicinity, as evidenced by the Allston Hall Block and the nearby Chester Block at the corner of Franklin and Cambridge Streets, built in 1892 from a design by Franz Joseph Untersee.
Preservation Challenges:
Conversion of this once elegant Second Empire office building into a warehouse resulted in unsympathetic alterations to the front elevation, including the infill of the storefront and third floor windows. The current owner has agreed to undertake minor façade improvements in cooperation with the Allston Main Street Office. Planned work includes the removal of the skirt roof from the storefront and the installation of trompe l'oeil murals over the infilled windows. The adjacent late-Victorian commercial building at 8 Franklin, which is under the same ownership as the Allston Hall Block, also will receive minor façade improvements as part of this project.
Neighborhood Context:
Franklin Street is a two-block long continuation of Harvard Street that dead ends into the Massachusetts Turnpike north of Cambridge Street. Construction of the turnpike in the 1960s transformed this section of Franklin Street from a busy thoroughfare at the heart of the Allston commercial district into an isolated side street. The area around Franklin and Braintree Streets, near the Allston Hall Block, has lost its historic retail and office uses and has converted into several blocks of warehouses and vacant lots. Across Franklin Street, the former Allston Depot is now a popular sports bar.
Other Sources of Information:
MHC Area Form for Allston Village
Entry Completed: 05/28/1999
| Although the nature of the auto parts business has not
changed, $20,000 of façade improvements, financed in part by an Allston Village Main
Streets' Façade Improvement Program matching grant, has resulted in noticeable changes.
The masonry has been cleaned, the sign board and skirt roof removed, new windows installed
on the second floor, and trompe l'oeil murals painted over infilled windows. Within the
next month lighting will be installed to illuminate the building's Franklin Street
façade. Update Entry Completed: 08/09/2002 |
 07/13/2002 |