Hynes Convention Center

The John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center located in Boston was built in 1988 from a design by architects Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood. It replaced the John B. Hynes Memorial Auditorium, also a convention center, built in 1963 during the Massachusetts Turnpike expansion from Route 128 to the Central Artery, which was regarded as "ungainly". The 1988 design "attempted to relate in scale and materials to its Back Bay setting, adopting granite and setbacks... The severe gray interior is reminiscent of an early 20th-century German railroad station".[1] The Center is named after former Boston mayor John Hynes.

John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center
Hynes Convention Center, from Boylston Street.
Address900 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
United States
Coordinates42°20′51″N 71°5′3″W
OwnerMassachusetts Convention Center Authority
OperatorMCCA
Built1968
Opened1968
Renovated1988
Enclosed space
Website
www.massconvention.com/jhcc.html

Function as meeting space

Physical characteristics

The building has 193,000 square feet (17,900 m2) of exhibit space and can accommodate up to four concurrent events. It features 71,600 square feet (6,650 m2) of meeting space with 38 permanent rooms and a 24,500-square-foot (2,280 m2) grand ballroom.

Annual occupants
  • Anime Boston is one of the events which regularly occupies the Hynes with around 25,000 unique attendees.[2]
  • Harvard Model Congress has been using the center for all House committees for its 2011 conference.
  • First Night Boston has used space at the Hynes each New Year's Eve.
  • Harvard Model United Nations has used it for the inauguration ceremonies with thousands of students from all over the world.
  • CollegeFest is a back-to-school college marketing event held yearly at the Hynes with around 15,000 attendees.
  • Berklee College of Music has a yearly jazz festival/competition, drawing in high school jazz bands from both inside and outside of New England.
  • iGEM hosts their annual Giant Jamboree at the Hynes Convention Centre between the last week of October and first week of November.

Location

The convention center is connected to the nearby Prudential Center complex.

Transportation

The convention center is connected by aerial passageways to a nearby hotel complex and can be reached by public transportation via the Hynes Convention Center station on the MBTA Green Line and, using the passageways, via the Back Bay station on the Orange Line, commuter rail and Amtrak. Logan Express shuttles run directly to and from Logan International Airport.

Nearby hotels
  • Colonnade Hotel Boston[3] is connected underground via the Prudential Center T Stop and Prudential Mall.
  • Copley Square Hotel
  • Newbury Guest House
  • Mandarin Oriental
  • Hilton Back Bay
  • Sheraton Boston is directly connected to the convention center.
  • Marriott Copley Place is connected to the convention center via the Copley Place Mall.
  • Westin Copley Place is connected to the convention center via the Copley Place Mall.

Closure & Redevelopment

On September 16th, 2019 Governor Charlie Baker announced his plans to close and sell the Hynes to finance an expansion at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. [4]

  • Partial view of awning, Boylston Street entrance
  • Hynes Convention Center, Boston, 2009
  • Hynes Convention Center, Boston, 2009
  • Interior, 2009
  • Interior, 2009

Notes
  1. Southworth, Susan & Southworth, Michael (2008). AIA Guide to Boston (3rd ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-7627-4337-7.
  2. "Anime Boston History". Anime Boston. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  3. http://www.colonnadehotel.com
  4. https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/09/16/charlie-baker-hynes-convention-center-bcec-expansion

Further reading
  • Gregory A. Patterson. "New Hynes Convention Center to open today". The Boston Globe, January 21, 1988. p. 25.
  • Allan R. Gold. "Amid debate, Boston's convention center opens. (John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center)". The New York Times 137. (Jan 23, 1988).
  • Paul Goldberger. "Architecture view; How to Take the Curse Off Convention Centers". The New York Times. February 26, 1989.
  • Robert Campbell. "A second look at Boylston's new buildings". The Boston Globe, September 12, 1989. p. 63.
  • Peter J. Howe. "Lawmaker urges veto for Hynes Center subsidy". The Boston Globe, July 1, 1991.
  • Scot Lehigh. "Hynes chief says criticism from Malone harms center". The Boston Globe, July 12, 1991.
  • Frederic M. Biddle, and Scot Lehigh. "Senate panel backs Hynes aid but limits effort to ease removal of convention center director". The Boston Globe, October 30, 1991. p. 27.
  • Scott Van Voorhis. Finneran says Hynes center could be sold. Boston Herald. April 20, 2002. p. 018.
  • Thomas C. Palmer Jr. "For sale: Hynes Convention Center? Board mulls future of Back Bay facility". The Boston Globe, June 25, 2002. p. D.1.
  • Scott Van Voorhis. "Hynes center review affecting bookings; Bankers group doesn't commit to 2007 date". Boston Herald. June 29, 2002. p. 016.
  • Editorial; "Goodbye to Joyce and Hynes Center". Boston Herald. Jan 17, 2003. p. 022.
  • Thomas C. Palmer Jr. "Tentative tourists: prospect of Hynes Center's closing cuts into bookings". The Boston Globe. November 26, 2003. p. D.1.
  • Governing Greater Boston: Meeting the Needs of the Region's People. Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2003.
  • "Boston's Hynes Convention Center, Garage Seen Worth Only $99 Million". The Boston Globe (April 13, 2004).
  • Janette Neuwahl. Business leaders urge state to keep Hynes Center open; they cite revenue generated in area. The Boston Globe. April 2, 2005. p. B.5.
  • Howe, Peter J. "Despite cross-town rival, Hynes rallies". The Boston Globe (August 23, 2005).
  • Heywood Sanders. Space Available: The Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy. Brookings Institution Research Brief, January 2005. http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20050117_conventioncenters.htm
  • Jon Chesto. All signs point to a long life for the Hynes center. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.: January 21, 2006. p. 29.
  • Howe, Peter J. "Commission will urge state to keep Hynes convention center". The Boston Globe (December 19, 2006).
  • ArchBoston.org. "Evolution of the Prudential Center: 1954–1989". Discussion thread beginning March 7, 2007.
  • ArchBoston.org. "Hynes renovation". Discussion thread beginning April 20, 2007.
  • Mohl, Bruce. "Hynes set to get $18m renovation. (John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center)". The Boston Globe (April 21, 2007).
  • Darrow, Bryan. "Hynes Center to upgrade: older convention facility gets new lease on life in Boston. (News Line)". Meetings & Conventions 42.7 (June 2007): 18(1).
  • Jenn Abelson. Hynes Center signs deal with local restaurateurs. The Boston Globe. April 4, 2009. p. B.5.
  • "The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century" by Howie Carr
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