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Boston · a catalogue study
Edition 2026-10-09.1
A remote or manually navigated catalogue study. The order follows recorded dates, not a pedestrian route; nearby regional places may be far apart. No walking duration is estimated.
Check each place's actual location and visitor rules. A catalogue pin does not grant entry or confirm present access. Use the atlas record and linked sources to plan a visit.
Automatically assembled catalogue study. Where text is drawn from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 applies to that text. Wikipedia article and contributor links are included with each applicable stop. Passages may be excerpted or abridged and include additional editorial date context. Other sources and original observation prompts retain their own terms.
1. Arlington Street Church
Arlington Street Church · Recorded year (source inventory): 1861
The Arlington Street Church is a Unitarian Universalist church across from the Public Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Because of its geographic prominence and the notable ministers who have served the congregation, the church is considered to be among the most historically important in Unitarian Universalism. Completed in 1861, it was designed by Arthur Gilman and Gridley James Fox Bryant to resemble James Gibbs' St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. The main sanctuary space has 16 large-scale stained-glass windows installed by Tiffany Studios from 1899 to 1930. On May 17, 2004, the Arlington Street Church was the site of the first state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in the United States. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=Q4792403&detail=1
2. Cathedral of the Holy Cross
Cathedral of the Holy Cross · Reported completion / phase: 1875
A large South End cathedral built with contrasting Roxbury puddingstone and limestone, with pointed arches and an expansive nave. 1866–1875. Construction began in 1866 and the cathedral was dedicated on December 8, 1875.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.
Record context: 1866–1875. Construction began in 1866 and the cathedral was dedicated on December 8, 1875.
Record context: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=keely-holy-cross-boston&detail=1
3. Hayden Building
Hayden Building · Recorded year (source inventory): 1875
The Hayden Building is a historic building at 681–683 Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The building was built in 1875 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as well as designated a Boston Landmark in 1977. Designed to act as commercial retail space, this four story brownstone building shows little of the ornamentation generally associated with Henry Hobson Richardson. It is the last surviving commercial retail building designed by Richardson in Boston. The building is in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=Q1591848&detail=1
4. Trinity Church
Trinity Church · Reported completion / phase: 1877
A polychrome stone church with deep arches, a broad crossing tower and adjoining parish house, facing Copley Square. 1872–1877. The church and parish house were constructed from 1872 to 1877 and consecrated in 1877.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.
Record context: 1872–1877. The church and parish house were constructed from 1872 to 1877 and consecrated in 1877.
Record context: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=richardson-trinity-boston&detail=1
5. Boylston Building
Boylston Building · Recorded year (source inventory): 1887
The Boylston Building is an historic building at 2–22 Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The six-story sandstone building was designed by Carl Fehmer and built in 1887 by Woodbury & Leighton. It is an early instance in Boston of a skeleton-built commercial structure, rather than having load-bearing masonry walls. The building housed the Boylston Market, a wholesale trading exchange which had been on the site since 1810 (in a building designed by Charles Bulfinch). It was designated as Boston Landmark in 1977 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=Q4952548&detail=1
6. Bowditch School
Bowditch School · Recorded year (source inventory): 1892
The Bowditch School is an historic school building at 80–82 Green Street in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The three-story brick-and-granite Classical Revival building was designed by Harrison Henry Atwood, a prominent local architect, and was built in 1892. Its main facade has a projecting three-part pavilion, with square entry openings at the base, and round-arch windows at the top level, with a modillioned cornice. It is named for Nathaniel Bowditch, a noted early 19th-century astronomer and mathematician. By 1981 Boston Public Schools stopped using the facility, and the city government deemed it excess to the city's needs in July of that year. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=Q4950750&detail=1
7. International Trust Company Building
International Trust Company Building · Recorded year (source inventory): 1893
The International Trust Company Building is an historic office building at 39-47 Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The nine-story masonry-clad building was built in 1892–93 to a design by William Gibbons Preston, a prominent local architect. It is an early Boston example of the Beaux Arts style, and is structurally an early prototype of the use of skeleton framing. The building was designated a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1978, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=Q6054050&detail=1
8. Building at 138–142 Portland Street
Building at 138–142 Portland Street · Recorded year (source inventory): 1896
138–142 Portland Street is a historic commercial building located at the address of the same name in Boston, Massachusetts. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=boston-ma&candidate=Q4986541&detail=1