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Honoring award recipients:
Ken Burns
Cambridge Seven Associates, Normandy Real Estate Partners, and Ames Hotel Partners
Proceeds to benefit the programs, services, and collections of The Bostonian Society and the Old State House Museum.
Corporate Sponsors: Davis, Malm & D'Agostine, P.C. Click here for ticket order form. 2009 Boston History Award Gala Seating is limited ~ Please reply by January 22
About the Awards
Credit: Cable Risdon Ken Burns Ken Burns has been making films for more than thirty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of his films, "More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source." A December 2002 poll conducted by Real Screen Magazine listed The Civil War as second only to Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North as the “most influential documentary of all time,” and named Ken Burns and Robert Flaherty as the “most influential documentary makers” of all time. Ken’s films have won ten Emmy Awards and two Oscar nominations, and in September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Ken has been the recipient of more than twenty honorary degrees and has delivered many treasured commencement addresses. He is a sought after public speaker, appearing at colleges, civic organizations and business groups throughout the country. Currently, Ken is once again partnering with Dayton Duncan, producing and directing a major series on the history of the national parks. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea focuses on the ideas and individuals that helped propel the parks into existence. Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales – from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska – the heart of the story is nonetheless a story of people from every conceivable background – rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy. This six-part film will air on PBS in the fall of 2009. In addition to the national parks project, Ken is also working on a history of Prohibition and an update to his 1994 epic Baseball, both tentatively scheduled to be shown on PBS in 2010. To read more, click here.
Credit: Courtesy of Cambridge Seven Associates Cambridge Seven Associates, Normandy Real Estate Partners, and Ames Hotel Partners The Society will bestow a special preservation award on Cambridge Seven Associates Architects, Normandy Real Estate Partners, and Ames Hotel Partners for their redevelopment of the historic Ames Building, Boston’s first sky-scraper. Built in 1890, the historic Ames Building is the second tallest bearing wall building in the United States. Designed by Boston’s Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the building stands 190’ tall and contains over 92,000 Square feet. Built of Milford Granite at the stylobate base and Ohio Sandstone for the 105’ of the central portion of the tower and the 28’ of cornice, the building achieves a classic form for what at the time was a technological achievement. The Ames Building became the City of Boston’s tallest structure. Inspired by both Romanesque and Byzantine architectural styles the architects achieved their own stylistic approach with the Ames Building, incorporating the classic proportions of base, middle and top in unusual proportions for the time. The masonry façade consists of beautiful details in blue slate and red sandstone as well as a rich composition of decorative carvings. The building’s primary use was that of an office building. The Old Colony Trust Company occupied the original few floors of the building and several other banks also had their headquarters there including, the Columbian National Bank and the Winthrop national Bank. The building retained its use as an office building until recently. The Ames Building is now about to be transformed to become one of Boston’s newest and most beautiful boutique hotels. Purchased by Normandy Real Estate Partners, the Ames Building is now undergoing a complete interior renovation to convert office space into a sophisticated modern hospitality program. The new hotel will be managed by the Morgans Hotel Group and the interiors are being designed by The Rockwell Group. Cambridge Seven Associates are the architects for the historic restoration of the entire building as well as the liason to the National Park Service for historic tax credits. The hotel will feature 127 guestrooms, a restaurant, bar/lounge and new a new lobby. Historic elements of the building are being preserved including the lobby’s tile vaulted ceiling, the interior stairway and of course, the exterior of the building which is being fully restored to its original splendor. The project, known as The Ames, is anticipated to open in the Fall of 2009.
The Boston History Award Each year since 1993, The Bostonian Society has bestowed its Boston History Award on an individual or institution that either embodies the city’s history, has contributed significantly to its illumination, or whose work has significantly advanced the field of public history. Recent recipients have included authors Nathaniel Philbrick and Doris Kearns Goodwin, and the owners of the Boston Red Sox. From time to time, and in keeping with the preservation facet of the Society’s mission, the Society honors a project that has preserved the historic fabric and unique character of our city by using preservation as a tool for urban redevelopment. |
