News
TAKE IT TO COURT
March 25, 2010
| 16 inches of pigeon guano, DC current, and no accessible elevator were but a few problems with the 116-year-old John Adams Courthouse until Chief Justice Margaret Marshall and others sat down with CBT architects and turned a neglected building into a proud civic symbol. | |
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| All energy and charm, Justice Marshall hosted our tour. The upgrades are several years old now, but we're still awed. By '05, the mansard roof was disassembled and rebuilt to be energy efficient, 1,000 window sashes replaced and frames rebuilt, and the two main entries are now handicapped accessible. In her quarters, they created an outer office where she could receive visitors. Now ?they can't see what a mess my office is.? Meanwhile, the new public space is free of personal trappings. ?A judge should be impartial,? but they should also mirror society somewhat, so she was pleased to hang her photo among the 306 years worth of her male predecessors. | |
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| We snapped CBT?s Charles Tseckares and Chris Coios with the Chief Justice in her chambers. Chris and CBT?s late Maury Childs directed the $100M makeover. (The courthouse cost $2.5M to build in 1894.) The exterior restored, inside they created a new 7-justice courtroom, plus new entries for the Appeals Court and Social Law Library. New HVAC and IT systems were hidden behind walls with refinished oak panels, plaster, and fresh paint applied in historically true colors. Artwork on the vaulted ceiling in the Great Hall, long soiled and cracked, was returned to its original splendor. CBT's current projects include Atlantic Wharf, now being built by Boston Properties, and the almost complete MFA renovation and expansion with Foster and Partners. | |
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| Former Judge Catherine White (second from left), now a practicing attorney again, was aghast when she arrived on the bench in 1987. The bathroom had a chain. The windows were cracked and hadn?t been washed in years. There was mouse poison all around. She asked herself: What have I done with my life leaving a nice law firm? But she stayed for 19 years and was thrilled to take the tour of the courthouse?s transformation. ?It's fabulous. I can't get over it.? |
