Compton Building
- Architect
- Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherell
- Style
- Neoclassical
- City
- Boston, MA
The Compton Building is an eleven-story steel-framed office tower spanning 159 and 161–175 Devonshire Street and 18–20 Arch Street in Boston's Financial District, built in 1902–03 and credited to the firm Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherell. It's considered a well-preserved example of a Chicago-style steel-framed skyscraper transplanted to Boston.
the building
Three-part elevation. The building follows a classic base-shaft-cap composition: the lower two floors form a stone-clad stylistic base, floors three through nine repeat a plain window bay, and the top two floors form a decorated cap echoing the detail of the base below.
the style
Finished in stone over a steel frame, it belongs to the Neoclassical vocabulary common to early-1900s Chicago-style office towers, using classical detailing to dress up a purely structural steel skeleton.
More on Neoclassicalsignificance
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. It is joined by a late 20th-century connector to the neighboring International Trust Company Building on Milk Street.
nearby
- International Trust Company Building
- Holy Cross Church, Boston
- Old South Meeting House
- McCormack Federal Bldg/Post Office/Courthse
- Old Corner Bookstore
- Codman Building