The John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center located in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 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 Back Bay setting, adopting granite and setbacks... The severe gray interior is reminiscent of an early 20th-century German railroad station." The Center is named after former Boston mayor John Hynes

John Hynes

John B. Hynes , a Massachusetts politician, was mayor of Boston 1950-1960.Family backgroundHynes was the son of Bernard Hynes, Abbey Street, Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, who emigrated to Boston about 1890...

.

Physical characteristics

The building has 193000 square feet (17,930.3 m²) of exhibit space and can accommodate up to four concurrent events. It features 71600 square feet (6,651.9 m²) of meeting space with 38 permanent rooms and a 24500 square feet (2,276.1 m²) grand ballroom.

Annual occupants

• Anime Boston
  Anime Boston
  Anime Boston is an annual three-day anime fan convention held in the spring in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The convention features a number of events which include a masquerade, an anime music video contest, video programming rooms, an artists' alley and art show, karaoke, game shows,...
  
   is one of the events which regularly occupies the Hynes with around 19,000 unique attendees. Since 2005, the convention has grown in size every year.
• Harvard Model Congress
  Harvard Model Congress
  Harvard Model Congress is the largest congressional simulation conference in the world, providing high school students from across the U.S. and abroad with an opportunity to experience American government firsthand...
  
   will be using the center for all House committees for its 2011 conference.
• First Night
  First Night
  First Night is an artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors by organizations in the city, such as churches and theaters...
  
   Boston has used space at the Hynes each New Year's Eve
  New Year's Eve
  New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
  
  .
• Harvard Model United Nations has used it for the inaguration ceremonies with thousands of students from all over the world.
• CollegeFest
  CollegeFest
  CollegeFest, founded in 1985, is one of the United States' largest festivals targeting college students. The 2-day event takes place on an annual basis in Boston, MA at the Hynes Convention Center. The purpose of CollegeFest is to introduce Boston's vast college student population to goods and...
  
   is a back-to-school college marketing event held yearly at the Hynes with around 15,000 attendees.
• Berklee College of Music
  Berklee College of Music
  Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
  
   has a yearly jazz
  Jazz
  Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
  
   festival/competition, drawing in high school jazz bands from both inside and outside of New England
  New England
  New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
  
  .

Transportation

The convention center

Convention center

A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...

 is connected by aerial passageways to a nearby hotel complex and can be reached by public transportation via the Hynes Convention Center station on the MBTA 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...

 and, using the passageways, via the Back Bay (MBTA station)

Back Bay (MBTA station)

Back Bay station, located at 145 Dartmouth Street, between Stuart Street and Columbus Avenue, is a train station in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston...

 station on the Orange Line

Orange Line (MBTA)

The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. It meets the Red Line at Downtown Crossing, the Blue Line at State, and the Green...

, commuter rail and Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

.

Nearby hotels

• Colonnade Hotel Bostonhttp://www.colonnadehotel.com is connected underground via the Prudential Center T Stop and Prudential Mall.
• Copley Square Hotel
  Copley Square Hotel
  The Copley Square Hotel is a hotel in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was built in 1891 on Huntington Avenue and Exeter Street, and has the distinction of being the city’s second-oldest hotel in continuous operation....
  
  
• Mandarin Oriental
• Hilton Back Bay
• Sheraton Boston is directly connected to the convention center.
• Marriott Copley Place is connected to the convention center via the Copley Place Mall.
• Westin Copley Place is connected to the convention center via the Copley Place Mall.

Further reading

• Gregory A. Patterson. New Hynes Convention Center to open today. Boston Globe, Jan 21, 1988. pg. 25.
• Allan R. Gold. Amid debate, Boston's convention center opens. (John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center). New York Times 137. (Jan 23, 1988).
• Paul Goldberger. Architecture view; How to Take The Curse Off Convention Centers. New York Times. Sunday, February 26, 1989.
• Robert Campbell. A second look at Boylston's new buildings. Boston Globe, Sep 12, 1989. pg. 63.
• Peter J. Howe. Lawmaker urges veto for Hynes Center subsidy. Boston Globe, Jul 1, 1991.
• Scot Lehigh. Hynes chief says criticism from Malone harms center. Boston Globe, Jul 12, 1991.
• Frederic M. Biddle, and Scot Lehigh. Senate panel backs Hynes aid But limits effort to ease removal of convention center director. Boston Globe, Oct 30, 1991. pg. 27.
• Scott Van Voorhis. Finneran says Hynes center could be sold. Boston Herald. Apr 20, 2002. pg. 018.
• Thomas C. Palmer Jr. For sale: Hynes Convention Center? Board mulls future of Back Bay facility. Boston Globe, Jun 25, 2002. p.D.1.
• Scott Van Voorhis. Hynes center review affecting bookings; Bankers group doesn't commit to 2007 date. Boston Herald. Jun 29, 2002. pg. 016.
• Editorial; Goodbye to Joyce and Hynes Center. Boston Herald. Jan 17, 2003. pg. 022.
• Thomas C. Palmer Jr. Tentative tourists: prospect of Hyne's Center's closing cuts into bookings. Boston Globe. Nov 26, 2003. p.D.1.
• Governing Greater Boston: Meeting the Needs of the Region’s People. Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2003.
• Boston's Hynes Convention Center, Garage Seen Worth Only $99 Million." Boston Globe (Boston, MA) (April 13, 2004).
• Janette Neuwahl. Business leaders urge state to keep Hynes Center open; they cite revenue generated in area. Boston Globe. Apr 2, 2005. p.B.5.
• Howe, Peter J. "Despite cross-town rival, Hynes rallies." Boston Globe (Boston, MA) (August 23, 2005).
• Heywood Sanders. Space Available: The Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy. Brookings Institution Research Brief, January 2005. http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20050117_conventioncenters.htm
• Jon Chesto. All signs point to a long life for the Hynes center. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.: Jan 21, 2006. pg. 29.
• Howe, Peter J. "Commission will urge state to keep Hynes convention center." Boston Globe (Boston, MA) (Dec 19, 2006).
• ArchBoston.org. Evolution of the Prudential Center: 1954-1989. Discussion thread beginning March 7, 2007.
• ArchBoston.org. Hynes renovation. Discussion thread beginning April 20, 2007.
• Mohl, Bruce. "Hynes set to get $18m renovation.(John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center)." Boston Globe (Boston, MA) (April 21, 2007).
• Darrow, Bryan. "Hynes Center to upgrade: older convention facility gets new lease on life in Boston.(News Line)." Meetings & Conventions 42.7 (June 2007): 18(1).
• Jenn Abelson. Hynes Center signs deal with local restaurateurs. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Apr 4, 2009. pg. B.5.
• The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century by Howie Carr

External links

• http://www.kmwarch.com/project.aspx?id=14 Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood
• http://www.mccahome.com Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, owner of the Hynes Center