Hotel Alexandra (Boston)
The Hotel Alexandra, historically the Walworth Building, is a High Victorian Gothic structure built in the 1870s with a sandstone facade at the corner of Washington Street and Massachusetts Avenue in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts.[1]
History
The hotel was developed by the Walworth Brothers who founded The Walworth Manufacturing Company which was a pioneer in steam technology in the late 19th century.[2] The hotel is of Victorian Heritage as it was named after Alexandra of Denmark. The hotel was opened in 1875 to crowded cobblestone streets, filled not with cars, but horses and buggies. The South End of Boston was barely 20 years old. Always a distinct building, the hotel originally stood prominently especially since most of the buildings around it were warehouses. In 1900 the hotel began a gradual desolation after the opening of an elevated train line right outside.
Rebirth
The hotel was discovered indefinitely vacant in the early 1990s. The residential hotel, which featured 50 rooms and 2,000 square-foot flats with high, elegant ceilings, was acquired by the Church of Scientology.[3]
In 2018 a proposal by a local developer consisted of restoring the historic facade of the Alexandra and constructing a modern, 13 story hotel tower at the rear and side of the structure. The project was approved by all City agencies but has yet to commence.
References
- ^ "Alexandra Hotel". Boston Preservation Alliance. September 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- ^ Shannon, Hope J. (May 5, 2014). Legendary Locals of Boston's South End. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439645024.
- ^ "Alexandra Hotel to be saved by Church of Scientology". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2018.