Shepley Bulfinch is marking Arizona’s centennial with “Where were you in 1912?”, an exhibit of architectural renderings from the firm’s extensive archives that is now on display at the firm’s Phoenix studio. The selected works cover the period from 1910 to 1920, the decade of Arizona’s statehood. The exhibit’s highlight is a series of renderings of Phoenix’s Trinity Cathedral and Parish House.

Shepley Bulfinch’s presence in Arizona predates statehood, with the design of the Trinity Cathedral campus in 1910. The Parish House was dedicated in 1915 and the Cathedral was consecrated in 1920. Although its location in the Roosevelt ...[more]

Boston Public Library’s new new torchieres for the iconic John Singer Sargent Gallery are celebrated in a feature in the January/February 2010 issue of Architectural Lighting magazine. As Joe Bille, the project’s interior designer, notes in the article, “Conceptually, Shepley’s design goal was to create a fixture that was not so much ‘in’ the space as ‘of’ the space … We used the Sargent murals themselves as a guide and source of inspiration.” The firm worked with Lam Partners of Cambridge on the lighting installation.

The gallery lighting is the ...[more]

BOSTON, MA – Boston’s landmark Ames Building, completed in 1893 by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, opened as The Ames Hotel at a gala event hosted by The Morgans Hotel Group last night.

The transformation of the office building to a 114-room boutique hotel followed an extensive renovation. The 13-story building, located between the Old State House and Boston City Hall, is considered Boston’s first skyscraper. It remains the second tallest building of masonry load-bearing construction in the world..

The Ames Building was also home to Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge beginning in 1893 to 1981, the first in an ongoing Shepley tradition of occupying buildings of its own design. As Shepley Bulfinch Richardson ...[more]

WELLESLEY, MA, – Shepley Bulfinch joins Wellesley College as the College marks the 100th anniversary of the Margaret Clapp Library with a reception and the opening of a retrospective photo exhibit at the library on October 21.

The original Library building was designed by the firm (then named Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge) in 1909 and funded in part by Andrew Carnegie. In 1975, it was named for Margaret Clapp, Wellesley’s eighth president (1949-66).

The cornerstone of the Classical Revival library was laid on June 5, 1909. The library opened to students on March 30, 1910, and was formally dedicated on June 13, 1910, the birthday of the Pauline Durant, wife of the ...[more]

Harvard University is marking the 75th anniversary of the completion of Memorial Church with a series of concerts, exhibits, and services. In honor of the occasion Shepley Bulfinch presented the Church with a framed gallery-quality print of the poster the design firm produced for Harvard’s tercentenary in 1936. The poster shows Memorial Church and the grandstands and banners also designed by the firm for the celebrations of Harvard’s 300th anniversary held in Harvard Yard.

Other events include “Heralds of Light: John Harvard and the Memorial Church”, an exhibit at the Pusey Library, and a concert by internationally renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma.

The Church, which was dedicated on Armistice Day (November 11, ...[more]

Cambridge, MA – Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology held a 70th birthday celebration for Bessie and Victoria, the pair of life-sized bronze rhinoceros sculptures by Katherine Lane Weems that flank the entrance to Harvard’s Biological Laboratories. Featured speakers at the celebration included noted biologist E.O. Wilson. The two rhinos were adorned with makeup, jewelry and skirts for the festivities.

The Biological Laboratories were designed by Coolidge Shepley Bulfinch and Abbott in 1931; over 75 years later the building continues to be a central element of Harvard’s biology teaching and research programs.

In addition to sculpting the Labs’ beloved rhinos, Ms Weems also designed the entrance door panels and the ...[more]