Boston Hotel Buckminster
Encyclopedia
Beacon Street
Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and several of its western suburbs. Beacon Street in Boston, Brookline, Brighton, and Newton is not to be confused with the Beacon Street in nearby Somerville, or others elsewhere.-Description:...
and Brookline Avenue
Brookline Avenue
Brookline Avenue is a principal urban artery in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, terminating in the town of Brookline. The Landmark Center, Fenway Park, Emmanuel College, Longwood Medical and Academic Area and Kenmore Square are sites along its length...
in Kenmore Square
Kenmore Square
Kenmore Square is a square in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, consisting of the intersection of several main avenues as well as several other cross streets, and Kenmore Station, an MBTA subway stop. Kenmore Square is close to or abuts Boston University, Fenway Park, and Lansdowne Street, a...
. It is, along with the Hotel Commonwealth (located on the former site of The Rathskeller
The Rathskeller
The Rathskeller was a Kenmore Square live music venue in Boston, Massachusetts that was open from 1974 to 1997. As implied by its name "Ratskeller" , the Rathskeller was a dimly-lit establishment...
), one of two hotels located within one block of Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
.
Construction
The hotel, built in 1897, was designed by architect Stanford WhiteStanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
, who also designed the Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
, certain townhouses on Beacon Street in the Back Bay, Washington Square Arch
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, and other notable structures. At the time of its construction, the Hotel Buckminster was one of the first hotels in Boston and the largest building in Kenmore Square.
Black Sox Scandal
On September 18, 1919, on a day that the Chicago White SoxChicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
defeated the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
at Fenway Park 3-2, bookmaker and gambler Joseph "Sport" Sullivan went to the Hotel Buckminster room of Arnold "Chick" Gandil, first baseman for the Chicago White Sox. There they conspired to fix the 1919 World Series
1919 World Series
The 1919 World Series matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Although most World Series have been of the best-of-seven format, the 1919 World Series was a best-of-nine series...
, which was to take place thirteen days later, for personal gain. When the "Black Sox Scandal
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
" was revealed it led to eight White Sox players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
, being banned from Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
for life. Also banned was Joe Gedeon
Joe Gedeon
Elmer Joseph Gedeon was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Browns....
, a second baseman for the St. Louis Browns who had placed a bet on the game and later informed to White Sox owner Charles Comiskey
Charles Comiskey
Charles Albert "The Old Roman" Comiskey was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and later owned the Chicago White Sox...
in hopes of getting a reward. The 1988 movie Eight Men Out
Eight Men Out
Eight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
is based on this scandal.
First network radio broadcast
In July 1929, WNAC RadioWNAC
WNAC may refer to:*WNAC-TV, a television station licensed to Providence, Rhode Island, United States*WHDH-TV, a television station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which used the call sign WNAC-TV from August 1948 to May 1982*WRKO, a radio station licensed to Boston,...
moved into new studios inside the basement of the Hotel Buckminster. Later that same year, using a 100-foot antenna connected to the building's roof with a clothesline, WNAC arranged the first network broadcast in the history of radio with station WEAF
WEAF
WEAF may refer to:* WEAF , a radio station in Camden, South Carolina, ex WAME, WQIS* WNBC , new call letters of NYC station originally WEAF, aka WRCA...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. This union formed a new company known as the Yankee Network
Yankee Network
For the radio network of the New York Yankees, see New York Yankees Radio Network.The Yankee Network was an American radio network. It was founded in 1930 by John Shepard III; in 1949, a controlling interest in the network was purchased by General Tire when Robert Shepard chairman of the network's...
. Later, WNAC converted most of its studio space into one of Boston's first television studios and began broadcasting on Channel 7 in June, 1948. For the next twenty years, WNAC operated a radio and television station in the hotel basement. During this time the station went through various facility upgrades and changes in ownership. One of its earliest and most succeeful radio announcers was Fred Lang (1910-1968), hired c. 1936, who read the news for Yankee network over WNAC through World War II: Lang also did Queen for a Day, the Tell-o-test Quiz Show, and a music show with a laid back flavor leading some to credit him with pioneering the "Easy Listening" style. After the Yankee Network ceased to be, the station became part of the RKO Radio Network
RKO Radio Network
The RKO Radio Networks, a subsidiary of RKO General, were the first commercial radio networks to distribute programming entirely by satellite. When it began operations on October 1, 1979, the initial RKO network was the first new full-service American radio network in 40 years. Satellite...
and the radio station, but not the television station, changed its call letters to WRKO
WRKO
WRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
.
World War II prisoner detention
A portion of the building was used in the 1940s by a detachment of military policeMilitary police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
for the purpose of holding Italian
Military history of Italy during World War II
During World War II , the Kingdom of Italy had a varied and tumultuous military history. Defeated in Greece, France, East Africa and North Africa, the Italian invasion of British Somaliland was one of the only successful Italian campaigns of World War II accomplished without German support.In...
prisoners of war during World War II.
Storyville nightclub
In 1950, Boston native George Wein moved his Storyville nightclubStoryville (nightclub)
Storyville was a Boston nightclub and music venue opened by Boston, Massachusetts native jazz promoter and producer George Wein during the 1940s. Ahead of its time, it was a magnet for music titans like Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker,...
to the ground floor of the Hotel Buckminster. A number of notable performers, especially jazz musicians, were featured in this new venue, including Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Red Garland
Red Garland
William "Red" Garland was an American hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom.-Beginnings:...
, Erroll Garner
Erroll Garner
Erroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, and Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
. Many made radio broadcasts from this location, some recordings of which still survive. In later decades, this venue hosted performers such as the Del Fuegos and the Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
. The space that housed Storyville is now occupied by a Pizzeria Uno restaurant.
1960s to present
A change in ownership in the 1960s led to the hotel being briefly renamed the Hotel St. George The building was sold to Grahm Junior CollegeGrahm Junior College
Grahm Junior College was a private junior college located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school opened in 1957 under the name Cambridge School of Business, as part of a chain of schools. Other branches were later based in Chicago and Philadelphia...
in 1968 and was renamed Leavitt Hall. WNAC by this time had moved to brand new studios in Government Center but the college never made use of the radio and television production studios left behind in the basement because of financial reasons. A few years later, the building was sold again. After restorations, the building was named "Boston Hotel Buckminster" and has operated as a hotel and apartment building ever since.
The Hotel Buckminster has ninety-four guest rooms and suites. Much of its advertising is based on its relatively low price for a hotel in Boston in very close proximity to attractions including Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Charles River Reservation
Charles River Reservation
The Charles River Reservation is a -long Massachusetts state park located along the banks of the Charles River in Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, and Newton. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation . The portion of the Reservation between the Charles River Dam and the...
, the Emerald Necklace
Emerald Necklace
The Emerald Necklace consists of an chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula, although it was never fully constructed.-Overview:The Necklace...
(especially Commonwealth Avenue Mall
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Commonwealth Avenue is a major street in the cities of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. It begins at the western edge of the Public Garden, and continues west through the neighborhoods of the Back Bay, Kenmore Square, Allston, Brighton and Chestnut Hill...
and the Back Bay Fens
Back Bay Fens
The Back Bay Fens, most commonly called simply The Fens, is a parkland and urban wild in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to serve as a link in the Emerald Necklace park system, the Fens gives its name to the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, and thereby to...
), Fenway Park, the Freedom Trail
Freedom Trail
The Freedom Trail is a red path through downtown Boston, Massachusetts, that leads to 16 significant historic sites. It is a 2.5-mile walk from Boston Common to Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Simple ground markers explaining events, graveyards, notable churches and other buildings, and a...
, Hynes Convention Center
Hynes Convention Center
The John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center located in Boston was built in 1988 from a design by architects Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood. It replaced a previous building, also a convention center, regarded as "ungainly." The 1988 design "attempted to relate in scale and materials to its...
, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
, Lansdowne Street (home to entertainment venues including House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
), Newbury Street and the Prudential Center
Prudential Tower
The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, The Pru, is a skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was...
.
Kenmore Station
Kenmore (MBTA station)
Kenmore is an MBTA light rail station in the Kenmore Square area of Boston, Massachusetts, and serves the Green Line B, C, and D branches...
, a subway stop on the Green Line
Green Line (MBTA)
The Green Line is a streetcar system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. It is the oldest line of Boston's subway, which is known locally as the 'T'. The Green Line runs underground downtown and on the surface in outlying...
that also has an above-ground bus terminal
Bus terminus
A bus terminus is a designated place where a bus or coach starts or ends its scheduled route. The terminus is the designated place that a timetable is timed from. Termini can be located at bus stations, interchanges, bus garages or simple bus stops. Termini can both start and stop at the same...
, is located on an adjacent city block
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
and is the hotel's closest MBTA
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
station.