Situated beneath the rotunda of the Boston Harbor Hotel, the ninth-floor Foster’s Observatory offers views worthy of a postcard. For now, the general public is welcome to enjoy those views without paying $400 for a room. But after 26 years, owner Pyramid Hotel Group wants to convert the 1,458-square-foot observatory into private guest space, while building a $750,000 indoor visitor center on the ground floor.
Pyramid says the observatory poses safety and security concerns, saying there was a suicide there several years ago. In exchange for removing public access to the observatory, the hotel proposes converting 1,535 square feet of offices and leased space into a ground-floor visitor center. It also agreed, at the request of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, to host quarterly tours of the former observatory.
In February the hotel submitted an application to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to modify its 1985 waterways license. The hotel owners say the existing observatory is little used, with no more than 150 people visiting it in a recent year. The facility is open weekdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Although it’s mentioned in a few online tourism guides, the observatory is not promoted to the public in or around Rowes Wharf.
“It is virtually impossible for visitors to find the observatory (no signage), and it is open only during banker’s hours,” wrote Steve Hollinger, a Boston resident and co-founding member of Seaport Alliance for a Neighborhood Design, in a letter to the DEP.
Supporter: Meeting Space Needed
The proposal has garnered support, however, from others, including Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, the New England Aquarium and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy.
Bud Ris, CEO of the New England Aquarium, said the ground-level observatory would provide needed meeting space.
“New space in this Hub would be in high demand and heavily used,” Ris wrote in a letter to DEP.
Pyramid Hotel Group did not respond to messages seeking comment. In the application, Pyramid said that the development of the hotel in the 1980s was partly responsible for the revitalization of Boston’s waterfront. Pyramid said it remains dedicated to public use of the waterfront, as demonstrated by its Summer in the City Entertainment Series of concerts and movies.
Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com
