After years of neglect and decay, the Hayden building, a 19th century gem in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood, has been restored, thanks to the efforts of Historic Boston Inc., a nonprofit group dedicated to saving and restoring historic buildings throughout Boston.
The Hayden is the last commercial building in Boston designed by renowned architect H.H. Richardson – the creator of Trinity Church – that is still standing. It was threatened with destruction when Historic Boston bought it and a neighboring building that was being used as an adult bookstore.
The group stabilized the Hayden building and rented out the first floor as a Liberty Bank branch. The building next door was transformed into Penang, a popular Malaysian restaurant. In 2010, Historic Boston sold the Penang building to complete the renovation of the Hayden building.
A year’s worth of work at the Hayden is now complete, with four loft-style apartments ready for rent on its upper floors. The bottom floor will be used for retail.
The restoration of the former eyesore at 681 Washington St. has helped trigger economic development in the former Combat Zone neighborhood. The building is sandwiched between two upscale projects under way – the 27-story Kensington at Washington and LaGrange streets and AvalonBay’s residential tower at 45 Stuart St.
The $5.6 million in financing for the Hayden project combined proceeds from the sale of the Penang building with funding from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Eastern Bank, the state and private donations.
The Hayden building restoration is one target of Historic Boston’s $1 million Trilogy fund-raising campaign, which will also help restore two other historic buildings: the Alvah Kittredge House, built in 1836 in Roxbury, and the Vertullo Building, built in Hyde Park in 1865.
Historic Boston was founded in 1960 to save the Old Corner Bookstore at Washington and School streets. Since then, it has become the leading force in historic preservation in the city, not only in Downtown Boston, but in Hyde Park, Roxbury, Dorchester, Charlestown and other neighborhoods.
Other projects under way include the restoration of Malcom X’s childhood home in Roxbury.
Historic Boston’s most ambitious effort is to revitalize entire historic neighborhood centers through both preservation and real estate development. By identifying and encouraging investment in key properties, the group hopes to revitalize once-thriving commercial districts.
Fields Corner in Dorchester and Cleary and Logan Squares in Hyde Park are the focus areas of the historic neighborhood centers program. So far, the program has generated more than $1.1 million of real estate development activity and investment in those districts.
As Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said at a recent ribbon-cutting to celebrate the Hayden building’s rebirth, it’s the mix of old and new in Boston’s neighborhoods and commercial districts that makes the city so special.
And it is the quiet work of groups like Historic Boston and its donors that helps ensure the old, but precious buildings of our past play a proud role in our future.
