Miguel Rosales’ design firm, Rosales + Partners, has been named the recipient of two more awards for its work on the Longfellow and Appleton bridges, respectively.
Rosales served as lead architect on the approximately $300 million-plus renovation of the Longfellow Bridge, and a major component of that project was the construction of the $12.5 million Frances “Fanny” Appleton Pedestrian Bridge, which connects the Longfellow to the Charles River Esplanade, and was designed by Rosales + Partners.
“I am proud that the Longfellow and Appleton bridges continue to win awards locally and at a national level. Both bridges will enhance the Esplanade and Charles River for decades to come,” Rosales wrote in an email. “They are iconic, well integrated into the landscape, and part of the history of Boston. One historic and one contemporary but united by their high visual quality, similar structural bridge arch type and matching dark green/grey color. It is fitting they also symbolize the union of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Frances Appleton who used to live in Beacon Hill before moving to Cambridge after their marriage. During their courtship, Longfellow frequently walked from Cambridge to the Appleton home in Boston by crossing the Boston Bridge. That bridge was replaced in 1906 by a new bridge which was later renamed the Longfellow Bridge. The Appleton bridge was completed in 2018 next to the Longfellow Bridge creating a visually outstanding ensemble of old and new along the river.”
For the Longfellow Bridge restoration, Rosales + Partners received the 2020 Bulfinch Award for Historic Preservation Award from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art New England.
“The Bulfinch Awards recognize practitioners from across the nation who are committed to promoting excellence in the classical tradition and allied arts within New England,” according to the organization’s website. “All eligible projects work toward building upon the legacy of Boston’s early Federal architect, Charles Bulfinch, who is widely regarded to be the first native-born American to work in the field professionally. Initiated in 2010 and modeled on the ICAA’s Arthur Ross Awards, the New England Bulfinch Awards program is an annual competition.”
The 2020 Bulfinch Award winners were recognized at a ceremony on Oct. 2 in the Harvard Hall at the Harvard Club of Boston.
For the work on the Appleton Bridge, Rosales, on behalf of Rosales + Partners, is also set to receive one of the Boston Preservation Alliance’s coveted 33rd annual Preservation Achievement Awards during a virtual ceremony tonight, Thursday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m.
“Inserting new infrastructure such as a bridge into both a park and historic environment is no easy feat,” said Greg Galer, executive director of the Boston Preservation Alliance, in a statement posted on the organization’s website.
“Yet the new Appleton Bridge threads the needle with sculptural elegance,” added Galer. “It provides universal access in the truest sense – welcoming all safely to and from the Esplanade while providing an evolving variety of viewpoints to the Charles, the Esplanade, the Longfellow Bridge, and the varied architecture of the city. The bridge demonstrates that infrastructure and artwork can be one and the same.”
Another Preservation Achievement Award winner this year is city archeologist, Joseph Bagley for his recently published book, “Boston’s Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them” (2021 Brandeis University Press), which includes the Glapion-Middleton House at 5 Pinckney St. (circa 1786), which, at #34, is Beacon Hill’s only entry on Bagley’s list.
“We think we know Boston and its historic resources – that the places that matter have been identified, but those of us in the preservation business know that is not the case,” said Galer in a statement posted on the BPA website.
“There is much yet to discover, and Joe Bagley‘s ‘Boston’s Oldest Buildings’ reveals that in an approachable and entertaining way with new revelations for us all,” added Galer. “By highlighting that many of the city’s oldest buildings are hidden in plain sight, that they are throughout the city, and that each has a unique story to tell, Joe reminds us to make no assumptions about the treasured history that may be hidden inside a seemingly non-descript building.”
For more information on the Boston Preservation Alliance’s 33rd annual Preservation Achievement, including how to register for the virtual event, visit https://www.bostonpreservation.org/awards/2021.