The Hutchinson Building (1924) is a unique and mostly intact example of Classical Revival commercial architecture in the Central Business District of downtown Boston. It was built for noted Boston real estate broker, investor, and developer J. Murray Howe. The building was designed by prominent architect Ralph Harrington Doane, who had been educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as consulting architect for the government of the Philippines before opening his Boston office. Doane designed a number of buildings in the Greater Boston area, including Rindge Technical School in Cambridge and Motor Mart Garage in Park Square, for which he was awarded the Harleston Parker Medal by the Boston Society of Architects. 

In addition to its significance as an example of Doane’s Classical Revival architecture, the Hutchinson Building is representative of the development and growth of the Central Business District in the years following the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which saw a surge in the construction of commercial buildings to accommodate the city’s thriving dry goods, shoe, and leather trades.

Read the Hutchinson Building Study Report

There are two ways to provide feedback on this potential landmark designation:

1. Written feedback can be provided by visiting this link: feedback form.
2. The study report will be discussed at a public hearing on January 23, 2024. Members of the public are invited to attend this hearing and provide comments there, as well. Please look for the meeting notice in the public meetings notice section of our website.