Government Center (Boston)

Government Center is an area in the center of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States, bordered by the city of Cambridge as well as through the streets Court, Congress, and Sudbury. Where once the Scollay Square was, are now the Boston City Hall, two Suffolk County Courthouse, several administration buildings of the government, a large subway station of the MBTA and City Hall Plaza.

Structures

Boston City Hall

In District Government Center, the large and imposing Boston City Hall is in the architectural style of Brutalism, which was built in the 1960s as part of the first Boston urban renewal program, a very dominant structure. Although the building merits in the field of architecture are awarded, it will not be admired by all - but rather with the locals, it is extremely unpopular, especially since the building has replaced the previous Victorian architecture of Scollay Square. Most recently in 2008, plans to move the town hall and the demolition of the building.

City Hall Plaza

The City Hall Plaza is also not a particularly popular, 11 acres ( 44,500 m²) comprehensive course, which is commonly referred to as "Brick Desert " ( " brick desert " ) or under the influence of the neighboring buildings as " the world 's biggest backyard ".

Government Service Center

Much less known as the City Hall is very expansive and also in the style of brutalism established Government Service Center, which was designed by Paul Rudolph. The building is unfinished to this day, as provided for in the original plans high tower was never built. In the neighborhood is the in the mid-1990s, built Edward W. Brooke Courthouse.

Geography and transport

The Government Center is located between the districts of North End and Beacon Hill. Directly opposite, on the other side of Congress Street, the historic Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are popular, and also nearby is the Old State House. Two blocks away leads to I-93 over.

Since then, with the Tremont Street Subway, the first subway was built in America in 1897, there is a metro station at the Government Center, which is now operated by the MBTA. This was first called Scollay Square Station and gained great notoriety as the group The Kingston Trio, a cover version of the 1948 protest songs MTA brought out. The song is about a man who is trapped in the underground and forced to go with her forever, because he can not afford the raise at the exit fee to be paid. The policy of the MBTA to charge fees for the exit of railway stations, was completely abolished until 2007. Today the Government Center station is a major interchange station for the Green Line and Blue Line.

Some great Boston streets run either near or lead directly to the Government Center, including the streets Tremont, Congress, Cambridge, Beacon, State, Washington and Devonshire.

Reception in popular culture

• The Boston proto- punk band The Modern Lovers recorded a song for titled " Government Center ," in which the singer Jonathan Richman announces humorous, " tonight non-stop at Government Center to rock to cheer the Secretariat staff when making their stamp press the letters ". The song is also present in the film Harmony and Me.
• On the debut album Your Favorite Weapon of the rock band Brand New from Long Iceland, there is a song called " Logan to Government Center".
• The building of the Government Service Center was the headquarters of the Massachusetts State Police in the film The Departed in 2006 - The Departed.