Ames Building Hotel

[philip]

By Jennifer Heldt Powell
Friday, June 2, 2006 - Updated: 03:50 AM EST

A posh Irish hotel chain has abruptly canceled plans to set up a 128-room boutique hotel in the historic Ames building downtown, the Herald has learned.

O?Callaghan Hotels had planned to open the four-star hotel at three-star room rates early next year. An O?Callaghan spokeswoman would only say that something better came along.

The chain plans to sell the building it bought for $20 million, said Leslie Pattison, director of sales for O?Callaghan?s Annapolis hotel. She couldn?t say whether it was already on the market or what the chain?s other options are. She was also unable to say how far O?Callaghan had gone with renovations.

The 14-story Ames, built in 1892 on Court Street, was said to be the world?s tallest building for a brief period of time and was Boston?s tallest building for nearly three decades.

O?Callaghan?s decision is so recent that its Web site still touts its plans to open the Boston hotel early next year. It was to have been its second in the United States.

The chain would have been the second from Ireland to set up in Boston. The first, Jurys, settled in the Back Bay.

?It?s a good place to do business,? said Stephen G. Johnston, Jurys Boston Hotel general manager. ?Last year was good and this year is even better,? he said.

Jurys is laying plans for another U.S. location and is scouting in Boston as well as New York and Chicago, he said.

Tourism officials said they were surprised by the decision given the ongoing demand for more rooms.

?The hotel market is very strong,? said Patrick Moscaritolo, head of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The building had been used as office space until it was bought in 1998 by the Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., which developed the Nine Zero. The company sold it to O?Callaghan after starting the process of turning it into a hotel.

http://business.bostonherald.com/images/real_estate/hotelltp06022006.jpg

The Ames would be perfect for a boutique hotel. Its a very handsome building and great location. Hopefully someone jumps on this

[Ron Newman]

Sure hope this doesn't stay abandoned and scaffolded for very long. It's a very prominent location.

[castevens]

For no obvious reason it reminds me of the haunted Omni Parker House hotel downtown

[ablarc]

Any further news on this?

[atlantaden]

LOL, ablarc, 20 something posts in a row....are you high on something? Perhaps the beautiful weather today in Boston?

[ablarc]

Time is on my side, yes it is

[kz1000ps]

There's still the sidewalk scaffolding and the like at the bottom, and I really, really wish they'd disappear so we can get that sidewalk opened abck up.

[Roxxma]

There's still the sidewalk scaffolding and the like at the bottom, and I really, really wish they'd disappear so we can get that sidewalk opened abck up.

They've actually been repairing the sidewalk inside the blue stockade for the past week or so.

[sidewalks]

I heard from a proverbial 'insider' that another hotel company just bought it and is already back at work. He mentioned the name 'normandie.' Take it with a grain of salt, but he is definitely someone who would know this kind of thing.

[Roxxma]

According to a deed recorded in Book/Page 41644/158 at the Suffolk Registry Deeds (http://www.masslandrecords.com), the property was conveyed on April 18, 2007 from One Court St LLC to Ames Court St, LLC. The consideration was $17,750,000.00.

[chumbolly]

The buyer is a joint venture with these guys: http://www.normandyrealty.com/index_portfolio.html

They received BRA approval for the transaction at the end of March.

Anybody know what they plan to do with it?

[ablarc]

The buyer is a joint venture with these guys: http://www.normandyrealty.com/index_portfolio.html

They received BRA approval for the transaction at the end of March.

Anybody know what they plan to do with it?
Make it bland to match their other properties?

[Waldorf]

^you beat me to it! Seriously, their properties suck a**.

[chumbolly]

To be fair, Normandy appears to be essentially a REIT, so I would not view their portfolio as being indicative of what will happen to the Ames. I presume they just buy under-utilized assets, create a lease roll or make improvements, and flip the property. In the case of the Ames, my guess is that they'll partner with a hotel developer, and who knows, it could be a great partner like Joie de Vivre Hospitality. I think it would be preferable if the Ames had been bought by an operator, such as the guy behind the Charles Hotel and the new Charles Street Jail Hotel, but I'm not giving up hope. After all, at least we know the street wall of the Ames won't change significantly--that would take too much dynamite.

[awood91]

Normandy buys One Court Street for $17.7M
Boston Business Journal - 4:05 PM EDT Monday, May 7, 2007
by Michelle Hillman

Boston's first skyscraper, known as the Ames Building, has been sold to yet another developer who says the building will be redeveloped into a boutique hotel.

Normandy Real Estate Partners purchased One Court St. from the Dublin-based O'Callaghan Hotels for $17.7 million.


New Jersey-based Normandy has partnered with Richard Kilstock of The Kilstock Organization and Eamon O'Marah, who is developing a 200-room hotel in Providence, R.I. Normandy and partners plan to complete the building's conversion into a four-star, 125-room hotel.

O'Callaghan bought the hotel from Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. in the fall of 2004 for $15.5 million. He planned to spend a total of $35 million to turn the gutted building into a 130-room hotel but never completed the redevelopment. The office building has been empty for nearly eight years.

The joint venture of Normandy, Kilstock and O'Marah recently received approval from the BRA and expects the project to be completed as soon as late next year. Normandy is considering all options as to whether to operate the hotel independently or under an established flag. The building is located on the edge of the Financial District, the Downtown Crossing shopping district and is within walking distance of Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Government Center.

The Ames Building, designed by the renowned architecture firm Shepley Rutan & Coolidge, was constructed in 1889 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was the city's first "skyscraper" and remains one of the tallest masonry buildings on the East Coast.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Better than condos.

[ablarc]

Perfect place for a hotel.

Perhaps none better.

Let's hope it injects some evening activity into a place without much nightlife.

After all, it's on the fringe of what used to be Scollay Square.

Needs a discreet "gentlemen's club," perhaps.

[statler]

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2007/07/06/1183697283_9991-3.jpg
Historic tower gets update
$40m renovation to turn Ames Building into boutique hotel

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | July 6, 2007

The Ames Building, a towering 14 stories at 1 Court St., reigned for more than a decade as the city's tallest skyscraper -- but that was more than a century ago.

Empty for the last eight years, a nonstarter for two would-be redevelopers, and more recently isolated by ugly concrete barriers, the exquisitely carved, historic landmark is soon to be reborn as a boutique hotel with a fine restaurant.

Designed in a combination of Byzantine and Romanesque styles by architects tutored by H.H. Richardson of Trinity Church fame, the building is undergoing $40-million-plus renovation to ready it for readmission to downtown's active urban life .

"The Ames Building is one of those structures that are flower-like, and it will be more and more appreciated as the years roll on," one writer predicted in a pamphlet in 1891, soon after "the most prominent and eligibly situated of Boston's great buildings" opened.

Its 21st-century redevelopers, who bought the property in April for $17.7 million, said they intend to make that statement true again.

Home of the Old Colony Trust Co. and its great impenetrable vaults, the Ames Building was built by Frederick L. Ames, a member of a family prominent in Massachusetts and American business and politics. It remains one of the tallest masonry buildings on the East Coast, built around a steel-beam skeleton that in its time was the latest in building technology.

"We will recognize that historic element," said Justin D. Krebs, a principal of Normandy Real Estate Partners, part of a team that bought the building. For the time being, the property is being called "Ames Hotel"; the Ames name will be retained, he said.

Cambridge Seven Architects has been laying out the plan for 125 luxury rooms -- four-star level, ranging in quality between Nine Zero Hotel on Tremont Street and the super-luxury XV Beacon Hotel -- and a first-floor martini bar and restaurant on the adjacent Washington Street Mall.

"We've had strong interest from some of the best restaurant groups out there," said Krebs. Club entrepreneur Seth Greenberg is advising the developers.

"Personally, I'd like to develop a Mistral-level restaurant," said Greenberg, referring to the elite restaurant he runs in the South End. "Something beautiful that really maintains the integrity of the architecture."

Formerly an office building, with marble floors and mahogany and leather doors, the Ames has a unique exterior, with an intricately carved and varied fa?ade of granite , sandstone , and blue slate, cornices, corbels, and carved-in-stone human heads, entrelac patterns and acanthus leaves -- all of which will be preserved.

"You can't do much -- you're not allowed to," said David T. Welsh, a Normandy founder.

Inside, though, almost everything will change. Normandy and partners are searching for a prominent Boston or New York interior design firm to make the interiors as remarkable as the respected exterior created by the original architects, Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. They also are still deciding on a name, hotel brand -- independent or part of a chain -- and operator.

"We've had discussions with a lot of major flags," said Krebs.

Both Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. of Boston (not related to the new InterContinental Boston Hotel) and O'Callaghan Hotels of Dublin previously owned the Ames Building and took runs at bringing it back to life. But it's situated on a tight site, with no parking, little loading space, and scarcely room for much conference space.

Since then, the hotel market in Boston has improved considerably, and the new developers have come up with different uses for the lower floors that are expected to bring more revenue.

Normandy and partners said they have made the small, 7,700-square-foot plot work by being inclusive; that is, by opening it to the outside. Instead of having conference space, they are expanding the areas devoted to restaurants, which is designed to accommodate more people -- not only hotel guests but also passersby.

"We want to bring it into the street scape, into the mall and the neighborhood," said Krebs.

The first floor will house a lobby, facing the Washington Street Mall, as well as a fine-dining restaurant that will look out on the mall, State and Washington streets, and the Old State House.

Lunch and breakfast spots will be located on the second floor, accessed by a grand staircase and a restored mosaic arch.

Normandy is based in New Jersey and has more than 7 million square feet of real estate -- half of which was recently acquired and in New England. It is codeveloping Ames with British real estate developer Richard Kilstock, who redeveloped residences in London's Savoy Hotel. A third partner is Eamon O'Marah, who is working on a hotel in Providence and who won permits for the Ames previously, when he worked for Intercontinental.

The hotel is scheduled to open in fall 2008. Tishman Construction Corp. of New York is the general contractor for the renovation, with Walsh Co. LLC of Morristown, N.J., overseeing the project for its owners.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.
Link (http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/07/06/historic_tower_gets_update/)

[chumbolly]

This is terrific news--I think the idea of focusing the lobby and public spaces onto the Washington Mall could be a big improvement for that area.

[Ron Newman]

I'm glad this project is back on track. I feel bad for the Newbury Comics store that's nearly impossible to see behind all of that scaffolding and contruction barrier. I don't know how they stay in business.

[Bobby Digital]

Newbury Comics stores are like twinkies and cockroaches, they'd survive a nuclear war.

[statler]

An elegant makeover for a classic
Ames Building interiors to be a New England first for 'boutique' designer Rockwell

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | September 7, 2007

The New York design firm that wowed guests at the boutique W hotels and trendy Nobu sushi restaurants has signed on to create interiors for a new hotel in the historic Ames Building in Boston.

In its first major project in New England, the Rockwell Group has been hired by hotel developer Normandy Real Estate Partners to design the rooms, lobby, common areas, and a restaurant at One Court Street, in the ornate 14-floor building that was Boston's first "tower."

"They kind of started the boutique industry and designed the first W hotel," said Justin Krebs, a principal of Normandy, who with his partners interviewed several interior designers for the centrally located Boston property, which dates from 1889. "They saw the space, and they just fell in love with it."

The unique exterior of the Ames building, designed in a combination of Byzantine and Romanesque styles, is an intricately carved and varied facade of granite, sandstone, and blue slate, with cornices, corbels, and carved-in-stone human heads, all of which the developers will preserve.

Rockwell Group is just getting started on the project, assessing the largely gutted structure, and won't have drawings for a couple of months. But designers and architects of the firm are working with club and restaurant owner Seth Greenberg, who is advising Normandy on restaurant and bar space and may operate the restaurant. It will occupy a large part of the first floor, opening onto Washington Street Mall, with views of State Street and the Old State House.

"It's a fabulous building, actually," said Gregory Stanford of Rockwell, which has also created spaces in Chambers hotels, the Venetian Theater in Las Vegas, and the wine bar at the St. Regis Hotel in New York.

"From a decor point of view, you really want the building to speak to you," said Stanford, who with his team will come up with a modern interior that nonetheless evokes the 1891 exterior. "That building has a lot it wants to give up. The grandeur of the outside has to match the inside."

Rockwell Group, whose website says, "Dreaming is one of our most important missions," specializes in restaurants and has dreamed up interiors at dozens of other high-profile eateries, hotels, residences, libraries, and cultural institutions. In the Boston area, Rockwell designed the interior for Best Cellars, a wine store at Coolidge Corner.

The firm said its design work doesn't have a "signature style," but rather "reflects a quirky pluralism." Its work on hotel lobbies seem to be characterized by a refined elegance, the spaces filled with high-quality materials rendered in styles, shapes, and at scales that evoke several eras.

Normandy, based in New Jersey, has aggressively bought property in the Boston area in the last few years and is currently renovating and rebranding the Holiday Inn in Newton to become an Indigo hotel, the first of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC's boutique brand to come to New England. The company is also converting a Holiday Inn in Atlantic City into the Chelsea Hotel.

Rockwell is working with Cambridge Seven Architects on the Ames's interiors. "It's a blank canvas with great bones," Stanford said. "With the customer for that location and where they want to be in terms of service, we think the expression would be modern."

"One thing we find most interesting is a building that has such a grand scale and at the same time is so intimate," he said. "It's curious how plain it is on the inside."

It's tricky to bring a building a century forward, Stanford said. "We want to respect the historical, but we don't really think people are looking for things to be sentimental." Architecturally, "Boston's got a lot of muscle," he said. "We're looking to create something that makes a strong statement. We're not looking to be wimpy."

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.
Link (http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/09/07/an_elegant_makeover_for_a_classic/)

[xec]

Looks like work has resumed.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r289/trixecol/AmesBldgSign_20071202-030.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r289/trixecol/AmesBldg_20071224-107.jpg

[Ron Newman]

I like seeing the name 'Ames Hotel'; hope it will keep that name when finished.

[rikahlberg]

Since the architects are Cambridge Seven and the construction company doing the work is Tishman, I expect it will be very similar to the lauded Charles Street Jail makeover into the Liberty Hotel.

There is a small blurb at the Cambridge Seven web site: http://www.c7a.com/Portfolio/hospitality/the_ames_hotel.asp

and this rather uninspiring rendering:
http://www.c7a.com/pageImages/portfolio/AMES_0112_2_M_Entry-Sketch.jpg

[tobyjug]

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm278/tobydog_photos/L1060420.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm278/tobydog_photos/L1060416.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm278/tobydog_photos/L1060396.jpg

Today. Was the outside painted before? I don't remember the polychromatic decoration.

[Padre Mike]

That might be stone decoration, inset like a mosaic. I never noticed it before, either, but then I never saw the building from this vantage point either.

[tobyjug]

I agree that these are insets. I thought the building used to be white, and wonder if my memory is at fault, or if the owner has stripped off the white (?) paint in preparation for a proper stone cleaning.

[AdamBC]

Should the name of this thread be changed since the hotel found a buyer and the project seems to be on track?

[Padre Mike]

I agree that these are insets. I thought the building used to be white, and wonder if my memory is at fault, or if the owner has stripped off the white (?) paint in preparation for a proper stone cleaning.

No, the building's never been white, though it appears cleaner than I remember it. But I don't recall anyone cleaning the exterior lately...but then?

[Ron Newman]

Yes, I'd appreciate it if a moderator could change the thread title to something like "New Hotel in Ames Building".

Do we know yet what name the hotel will have when it opens?

[Lurker]

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3760/001393zm0.jpg The F.L.Ames building replaced by The current White building post WWI. The lot where the White building stands was combined with the Carter building on the corner to create 10 West Street. The original building names were ignored when the project went from offices to condos, and finally the Suffolk dormitories.


The mosaics were common on a lot of Richardson's late commercial work and SRC's practice in the late 1880-90s. The original lobby had similar ornament. Norcross builders was involved in all of these late Boston projects, also including Peabody and Stearns Fiske building, so naturally they were all very similar in detailing.


www.asbuiltsurveys.com/ec/pdfs/client6.pdf
Is the rather bland survey done for the original Irish hotel chain.

[statler]

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3760/001393zm0.jpg

[stellarfun]

Ames Building set to become boutique hotel

By Angel Jennings, Globe Correspondent | June 17, 2008

The New York company that attracts celebrities to its chic hotels, including the Hudson in New York and the Delano in Miami Beach, has signed on to develop a boutique hotel in the historic Ames Building in downtown Boston.
Morgans Hotel Group is expected to disclose today that it will join with developers Ames Hotel Partners and Normandy Real Estate Partners to operate a hip modern hotel in the 1889 building that was Boston's first skyscraper.

The property, which will be known as The Ames Hotel, joins a growing list of luxury hotels coming to Boston. The W Boston hotel, which has been in the pipeline since 2006, will open in the Theatre District next year, for example.

Morgans said it will spend $75 million to turn the 14-story Ames building into a hotel with 115 guest rooms, a restaurant, a bar, and a gym. And while the company is mum on the decor of the hotel, which will open in 2009, it said it will embody the avant-garde feel of its other properties.

"We are really known for hotels with a design focus," Marc Gordon, the chief investment officer of Morgans Hotel Group, said in an interview. "We are talking about new, interesting, noteworthy, and edgy."

In September, The Rockwell Group, the New York design firm behind the W hotels and Nobu sushi restaurant, signed on to create the interior for the new Ames building. Rockwell said it planned to play up the classic structure of the Byzantine and Romanesque-style former office building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Justin D. Krebs, a Normandy principal, said in a statement the renovation would return "this landmark property to its former glory."

Each of the 10 hotels Morgans owns and operates has its own style. The Hudson in Manhattan has neon-lit escalators that take guests up 40 feet to the ivy-covered lobby.

"They have a reputation that people are following," said Reed Woodworth, vice president of PKF Consulting in Boston, which follows the hospitality industry. "The hotels are hip and chic. It's not the standard boutique-style hotel. They are high energy and tend to draw a younger crowd. They are a little bit more of a party hotel."

And celebrities hang out there, too. Hollywood stars like actress Eva Longoria Parker frequent the company's Los Angeles hotel, the Mondrian.

Woodworth said the Ames could become a party scene, too, especially with so many movies being shot in and around Boston these days, but questioned whether that alone would sustain the hotel operations.

"Movies being filmed here will bring the high-end celebrity types. But will that be enough to fill a hotel?" he asked.



http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/06/17/ames_building_set_to_become_boutique_hotel/

[bostoncitywalk]

Looks like they are cleaning the exterior -- this is going to look pretty nice when it is done:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/2666236805_2e96822c3b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostoncitywalk/2666236805/)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostoncitywalk/

[statler]

That looks awesome.

Maybe they can move over to City Hall when they are done.

[kz1000ps]

First impression: it's supposed to be white?!?

Follow-up: I think I prefer it brown-beige.

[whighlander]

I agree the Ames Hotel sounds like a fine small project -- should have called it Ames House however -- I keep waiting for someone to comeback to old Boston-style names like Adams House


as for working on City Hall -- Maybe they can move over to City Hall when they are done.

I agree -- we need to get rid of that rust that seems to be covering the a lot of the magnificent concrete structure City Hall -- soon to be the new home for the New England Aquarium?

Oh what's that -- its brick and the city hall is moving to the old home of the New England Aquarium -- er oh never mind

Westy

[Lurker]

A century worth of coal soot, non-low sulfur diesel, and pre-catalytic converter automotive exhaust darkens the hell of out of granite.

http://www.dumondchemicals.com/html/picbc.htm

Many of the dark buildings around the city are simply filthy with a century worth of pollutants and would look very different if cleaned. There's a lot of beautiful color patterns that masons and architects developed over the years hidden behind grime.

[pelhamhall]

Has anybody been inside the Hotel Indigo in Newton? Same developers (Normandy) - and while the outside of the Indigo can't help but retain it's 1960s-era look, the inside is absolutely unbelievable - a total grand slam. Beautiful, well-designed and well-executed. I'm glad they're behind this project too. They get the details right - the Ames hotel will need a detail-oriented developer. (And I would love it if they called it the 'Ames House' - I actually just suggested your comment to Normandy's branding firm - would you waive your "copyright" if they used it?!!)

[AC]

I'm glad this project is back on track. I feel bad for the Newbury Comics store that's nearly impossible to see behind all of that scaffolding and contruction barrier. I don't know how they stay in business.

They are having a clearance sale right now on DVDs and CDs and moving to the east end of Quincy's North Market Building soon.

[tobyjug]

Toby took the "red eye" out of Prestwick, but is locked out of his flat.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090138-1.jpg

Time to look into one of those nice new hotels one reads about!

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090323.jpg

Some have said the basset originated in Normandy. Perhaps the Ames House would be Toby friendly.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090329.jpg

Toby likes a hotel that takes cleanliness seriously!

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090335.jpg

Let's go to reception and see if there are any suites available.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090339.jpg

"I say! Sir! Excuse me sir! Could you quote me a room rate!"

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090338-1.jpg

"Porter! Porter! Please take my bags to a room!"
Service here is seriously wanting. Let's go upstairs and have a word with management.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090340.jpg

"Hello! Hello! Hello?" This style is more doghouse than bauhaus.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/tobyjug_2008/L1090342.jpg

I'm leaving. Toby is more a Copley Plaza type, not one of the trend setters who must stay here.

[Suffolk 83]

Thanks Toby

[tmac9wr]

Who knows where that basset will travel next...thanks for the pics.

[statler]

Good dog!

[Bos77]

Sorry to resurrect a dead post, but does anyone know what is going on with this project? A month ago, they had huge cranes up on the weekend, presumably doing HVAC installation. The past couple of times I've been by, it has been VERY quiet, and dosn't even look like anything has changed. Is Normandy/Morgan still working on this project?

[Jane Jetson]

They've been working on it doggedly, you might say. They've been up on the roof.

[tmac9wr]

To keep with the canine theme of this thread, maybe you should have said "they've been up on the woof!"

Ahhh, I'm wayyyy too bored at work.

[Jane Jetson]

Damn!

[kennedy]

Ahhh, I'm wayyyy too bored at work.

Word. Romanticism research papers suck, especially on rainy Monday mornings.

[Bubbybu]

I remember them already trying to wash the sandstone and granite and they did a good job at the base but the rest of the tower still looks very worn...are they going to try and polish it up a bit more or is that the best they can do?

[Lurker]

To get the deep stains out they'd have to apply poultice and let it sit under a protective wrapper for several days. In the colder windy weather that wasn't really possible. Depending on the budget it still might not happen.

[kmp1284]

Opens November 19.

http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/ameshotel/

http://www.ameshotel.com

[Boston02124]

^cool! thanks

[Ron Newman]

Glad to see them keeping the name 'Ames'.

[JohnAKeith]

Photos from the bar inside the Ames Hotel, called the Woodward.

Ames Hotel Bar (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.urbandaddy.com%252F slideshow%252Fbos%252F197%252FWoodward_Tavern_Slid eshow_Boston_BOS%2523http%253A%252F%252Fstatic.urb andaddy.com%252Fuploads%252Fassets%252Fimage%252Fs lideshows%252Fstandard%252F196637c140a1dcf3dd36953 f862d3544.jpg&h=4b2c9aea5674cc5f170799f32710529b&ref=nf)

More: http://www.urbandaddy.com/bos/nightlife/7935/Woodward_Your_First_Look_at_Woodward_Boston_BOS_Re staurant

I don't know why they can't have simpler URLs.

[palindrome]

I love boutique hotels.

[Beton Brut]

This'll be a good one. The restaurant interior reminds be a bit of Gordon Ramsey's Maze at the London Hotel in NYC (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2067/2093933659_50a9b574c4_o.jpg).