AIA Guide to Boston: Contemporary Landmarks, Urban Design, Parks, Historic Buildings and Neighborhoods

This book is a superbly written history of Boston's built environment, filled with insider details and engaging anecdotes about more than 600 buildings, including such historic landmarks as Faneuil Hall, the mansions on Beacon Hill, the commercial wharves in Boston Harbor, Fenway Park, and the Freedom Trail as well as Boston's latest contemporary buildings such as the ICA, MIT's Stata Center, and the infamous “Big Dig.” This guide has been completely rewritten and redesigned, with added theme tours, such as Boston Urban Design, Contemporary Landmarks, or the work of Charles Bulfinch. New, up-to-date locator maps have been created for this edition, and the glossary and index have been revised.

Michael and Susan Southworth have practiced urban planning and architecture in Boston and in the San Francisco Bay area. Because of their knowledge of Boston architectural history, they were chosen by the City to extend the Freedom Trail beyond its early beginnings. Subsequently, Boston hired them for more than a dozen preservation planning projects. Their urban design and park projects have won national and international awards. Their research and consulting has helped neighborhoods recover lost history and sympathetically incorporate adventurous new architecture into historic streetscapes.

Michael Southworth is professor of Urban Design and Planning at the University of California at Berkeley, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and a charter member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is also the North American editor for the Journal of Urban Design.

Susan Southworth also writes fiction; she is completing a Balkan trilogy, including The Last Kosovo Serb Won't Leave. She is currently researching the Chechen diaspora.