| Bedford Block | |
| Location: | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates: | 42.3532°N -71.0581°W |
| Built: | 1875 |
| Architect: | Charles Amos Cummings; Willard T. Sears |
| Architecture: | Venetian Gothic |
| Added: | August 21, 1979 |
| Refnum: | 79000368 |
The Bedford Block is an historic commercial building at 99 Bedford Street Boston, Massachusetts, in an area called Church Green. Built in 1875 in a style promoted by John Ruskin called Venetian Gothic. The style may also be referred to as Ruskinian Gothic.[1]
It was designed by Charles Amos Cummings and Willard T. Sears for Henry and Francis Lee [2] as a retail shoe center in an area that had been destroyed by the Great Boston Fire of 1872.[3] The building was added to the National Historic Register in 1979. Building was renovated in 1983 in conjunction with the Bay-Bedford Company.
The Bedford Block's exterior is constructed of polychromatic bands of New Brunswick red granite, Tuckahoen marble, and pressed terra-cotta panels manufactured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[4] It was the first building after the Great Fire to use New Brunswick red granite as a material.[3]
The first floor features rough rustic blocks. Upper floor details include arched bay windows, Viollet-le-Duc inspired iron balconets[3] and flat column pilasters. Each roof gable is topped with a finial crown. There is a glazed tile clock is located in a 5-story tower at the corner of Bedford and Summer streets.