Buckminster Hotel

Hotel Buckminster represents the development of Kenmore Square at the turn of the 20th century, and today remains the oldest historic building at the western end of the square. Used for much of its history as an apartment hotel and a tourist hotel, The Buckminster is significant for its association, from 1930 to 1968, with the growth of New England’s radio broadcasting industry. The building possesses further significance for its occupation and operation, during World War II, by the U. S. Army’s First Service Command, serving the six New England states from headquarters in Boston. As the location of a widely known jazz club in the early 1950s, The Buckminster is also connected with pioneering efforts in the history of jazz music promotion in New England.

Shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic The Buckminster announced in a post on its Facebook page that it would suspend all operations on March 20^th, 2020 with no plans to reopen in the future. Life Sciences real estate developer IQHQ Inc. purchased The Buckminster in November 2021 and announced plans to convert the historic hotel into lab space, requiring demolition of the existing structure. 

Our Position

The Alliance strongly believes that the historic Buckminster Hotel should be restored and reused. After so much loss of historic fabric in Kenmore Square and the larger Fenway neighborhood, The Buckminster Hotel is now that much more essential to the neighborhood’s sense of place, character, and history. It is an anchor on an iconic corner and as several new developments begin to rise above the square, The Buckminster must remain to make crucial connections between the neighborhood’s past and present. Built in the late 19th century, The Buckminster is the oldest hotel in the Kenmore area and once hosted a variety of notable figures-from jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to baseball icon Babe Ruth to entertainer Andy Kaufman. During World War II it is said that the hotel housed Italian prisoners of war. There are relatively few buildings in all of Boston with as much history and identity than The Buckminster. Losing yet another icon of the city to development would not only further erode the neighborhood’s sense of place, but would lead residents to the conclusion that their memories, experiences, and histories are justifiable sacrifices to the interests of private development.

On October 28th 2022, The Alliance submitted a landmark petition to the Boston Landmarks Commission with strong support from Fenway-Kenmore residents.  

Activity Log

October 13, 2023

The Hotel Buckminster is officially designated a local Landmark! 

August 22, 2023

The Boston Landmarks Commission votes unanimously to accept both the study report and the petition to designate the Hotel Buckminster as a Boston Landmark. Within the next 45 days, the Mayor and City Council will vote to accept or not accept the designation. If accepted, the property will become a protected local Landmark. 

August 7, 2023

The front page of the Boston Globe features an article about the Hotel Buckminster, quoting Alliance Executive Director Alison Frazee. The article says, “After preservationists sparked an uproar via an email campaign, the issue is back on the Landmarks Commission agenda for Aug 22” when a vote to designate the site as a Boston Landmark will take place. 

An agenda is posted for the August 22nd hearing of the Boston Landmarks Commission that include a vote to designate the Hotel Buckminster as a local Landmark. The Alliance encourages the public to attend this meeting and demonstrate broad support for the preservation of this iconic building. 

July 25, 2023

The Alliance issues an AllianceALERT asking members of the public to contact City leadership about the Buckminster Hotel being pulled from the Boston Landmarks Commission’s agenda for a vote to designate.  

July 24, 2023

Alliance Executive Director Alison Frazee receives a call from Mike Firestone, Chief of Policy for the City of Boston. Firestone informs Frazee that the Buckminster Hotel has been pulled from the agenda for the Boston Landmarks Commission meeting the following night (July 25) when it was scheduled for a vote to be designated a Boston Landmark. Firestone gives no explanation other than citing the need for more internal conversation. Firestone can not confirm when the item will be on a future agenda or what actions will be taken in the interim. Frazee explains the significance of the Buckminster Hotel and the importance of Landmark designation. 

January 26, 2023

An article about The Buckminster Hotel is published in The Boston Business Journal written by Greg Ryan. The article features quotes from The Alliance’s executive director Alison Frazee:

“There are so many stories to tell with this space. Not only that, but it’s an anchor in the neighborhood,” said Alison Frazee, the Boston Preservation Alliance’s executive director. “For all of those reasons, we feel it’s really important to be sensitive to this site.”

January 24, 2023 

IQHQ Inc. files letter of intent with the BPDA. 

November 22, 2022

The Landmark petition is presented by Alliance Executive Director Alison Frazee at the Boston Landmarks Commission hearing for survey rating category upgrade and acceptance of petition for further study. Both items are accepted unanimously by the Commission. The Hotel Buckminster is now a Pending Landmark and a study report will be prepared for review by the public, owner, abutters, and other stakeholders before a future presentation to the Commission and then a vote for designation as a Boston Landmark. 

October 28, 2022

The Alliance submits a Landmark petition to Boston Landmarks Commission, attached below. 

September 7, 2022

Alliance Executive Director Alison Frazee meets with representatives from IQHQ, the current owners of the Buckminster Hotel building. IQHQ is a development company that specializes in labs, so their plan is to convert the building into lab space. The team explains that the existing ceiling heights are not conducive to labs, however, so they will likely advance a proposal that demolishes the building and potentially reconstructs some design elements of the historic building. Alison emphasizes the significance of this building and the importance of adaptive reuse, not only for historic reasons but also for environmental and sustainability reasons. The team agreed to return to the Alliance once they have selected a design concept.