Winthrop Square (Financial District, Boston)

Winthrop Square is a public square in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in the city's financial district, in a small plot between Otis Street to the west and Devonshire Street to the east. It is three blocks south of the Old State House and two blocks west of Post Office Square.

Winthrop Square
Square in Boston
The square in 2013, viewed from Devonshire Street
The square in 2013, viewed from Devonshire Street
Coordinates: 42.3547815196°N 71.05763696°W / 42.3547815196; -71.05763696
State Massachusetts
CityBoston
DistrictFinancial District
BoundariesOtis Street (west)
Devonshire Street (east)

Dedication
John Winthop, to whom the square is dedicated

The square is named for John Winthrop (1587/1588–1649), an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony.[1]

Design

Situated in front of the 1873-constructed One Winthrop Square,[2] the columns on the building's façade were used as the inspiration for the square's paving pattern, which contains strips of granite that "project in varied ways into the space to define entry, seating areas and diagonal circulation."[3]

A case study was undertaken in 2003 to determine whether the square and its two adjacent streets should be widened to make a better connection to Lincoln Street and improve the traffic flow from Devonshire Street to the South End.[4]

Businesses

The Boston Flower Exchange, founded in 1892, opened a flower market at the corner of Otis Street and Winthrop Square in February 1913. They launched the new location, in what was known as the Wholesale Flower District, with a reception and flower show.[5]

Newspapers and publishers

The Atlantic Monthly had its Boston offices at 220 Devonshire Street in Winthrop Square in the 19th century. The magazine was established in the city in 1857.[6] James R. Osgood and Company inherited The Atlantic Monthly and its office location.[7]

In 1878, publishers Houghton, Osgood and Company were based in the square.[8]

In early years of the 20th century, the pressrooms of Boston American were located here.[9]

Statue of Robert Burns
Main article: Statue of Robert Burns (Boston)

The square was home to a statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns for 44 years, having been moved from Boston's Back Bay Fens in 1975. It was returned to its original location in 2019.[10][11][12]

See also

References
  1. "John Winthrop describes life in Boston, 1634" – Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
  2. 'Milwaukee, Plankinton House, Marquette Urban Renewal Area Environmental Impact Statement (1979), p. 15
  3. Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design, Roger Trancik (1986), p. 84 ISBN 9780471289562
  4. The Limits of Power: Great Fires and the Process of City Growth in America, Christine Meisner Rosen (2003) ISBN 9780521545709
  5. American Florist, Volume 40 (1913), p. 116
  6. The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 43 (1879)
  7. The American Architect and Building News, Volume 2 (1877)
  8. The Waldenses of To-day, George Edwin Waring Jr. (1879)
  9. The Paper Mill and Wood Pulp News, Volume 44 (1921), p. 50
  10. Allis, Sam. "Where's Winthrop?" – via The Boston Globe.
  11. "Statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns will be coming home to Back Bay Fens – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  12. "Boston's Robert Burns Statue in the Fens | National Trust for Scotland USA". The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA. November 8, 2019.
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