Charles Bulfinch Influence On Boston

“Boston is history, a history made of bricks and woods.” In the river of Boston’s history, just like Prometheus brought fire to lawless human-beings, Charles Bulfinch brought European taste and design to the arid land of architecture in Boston, ushering in a new era in the name of Federal Architecture. 

After the revolution, as what Thomas Pemberton said, Boston was capable of great increase, as many large spaces of land still remain vacancy. Meanwhile, frequent devastating conflagrations kept the building trade busy and changed the appearance and layout with some regularity. All these situations made it possible for Charles Bulfinch to show his talent for architecture. Under such circumstances, Charles Bulfinch finished his eighteen-month
After selected as a selectman on the Board, Bulfinch was responsible for the construction and plan of Common. During this period, Bulfinch designed and supervised the construction of India Wharf from 1802 to 1804, which later became Boston’s “headquarters of the trade with the Orient”. Meanwhile, he redesigned Faneuil hall in 1805, adding a third floor on it. That provided more space for commercial activities. He designed the plan of Common development on every single street and every block of this region. It seems like Boston Common was made by his hand. With viable city planning, more and more residents and merchants came to Common. All in all, Bulfinch had a indelible meritorious deeds for the commercial prosperity and development of Common. Let’s look beyond Boston Common, he designed Massachusetts State prison in 1803, University Hall in Harvard(during 1813 and 1814), and Massachusetts General Hospital in west point(in 1818). A lot of buildings, indeed. But when it comes to his most astonishing public opus, I have to mention Massachusetts State House (built in 1798)—a typical example of Federal style. Not only because it is the first State house in the whole America, but also for its delicate design and grandiosity. It is located in the Beacon Hill, just in front of Boston Public park. Due to Bulfinch’s request, the columns and statuaries inside were all hand-made by Italian artisans who were purposely sent to Boston for the construction of State House and even stones were purposely transported from Italy. Such elaborate and intricate ornamentations changed how Bostonians thought about aesthetic. For a period of time, there was a law that limited the heights of buildings to that of The State House. From this law, you could see that Charles Bulfinch had a unique and insurmountable position among Bostonians. I even heard