Happy 30th Boston Design Center!
6 Min.
This month the Boston Design Center celebrates its 30th birthday, 30 years as Boston’s premier resource for designers and architects, 30 years creating the most beautiful spaces in the city. The Seaport district and the Innovation and Design Building have seen many changes over the last 30 years, over the past 3 years in particular! But the history of the building reaches even further back into the story of the city of Boston.
The eight-story Innovation and Design Building (IDB) complex was constructed on the Commonwealth Flats by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1918, and it originally served as a waterside storehouse for the South Boston Army Base. In its heyday during World War II, 50,000 people worked around the clock at the South Boston Army Base and neighboring South Boston Naval Annex repairing and overhauling American ships and warehousing and distributing a wide range of military goods and supplies. The City of Boston acquired the IDB facility and neighboring properties from the U.S. Army and Navy in 1983 and established the Boston Marine Industrial Park.
The creative and entrepreneurial spirit that presided in South Boston’s 20th Century manufacturing and warehousing zones lives on in the workspaces of today’s innovation economy businesses. Today the 1.4 million square foot Innovation and Design Building is home to a dynamic mix of companies and industries that include architecture and creative service studios, specialized manufacturing facilities, research and development firms, and technology start-ups. At its western end, the IDB complex is anchored by the Boston Design Center.
The Innovation and Design Building is located in the Boston Marine Industrial Park , part of the Seaport’s Innovation District nestled between downtown and South Boston. The Park is home to more than 200 businesses and 3,000 employees and has a rich history as a center of marine industry. IDB is flanked by one of the country’s largest working dry docks to the north and by the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal to the south, affording building employees a firsthand view of the impressive military and passenger ships that visit Boston Harbor throughout the year.
The Boston Design Center is the epicenter of design in New England, featuring more than 350,000 square feet of home and contract showrooms representing the best in both domestic and international product lines
The BDC truly is a remarkable place. In our 9 months in the building, we have explored each floor and sheer volume of beautiful things and talented folks is pretty amazing. For 30 years the Boston Design Center has been at the forefront of design trends and led the way in high-end design, we wish you another successful 30 years BDC!
Information and images from the BDC and IDB websites and social media outlets.
JF Content creator and marketing director. Olivia loves beautiful spaces, inside and outside. When she’s not writing and talking about gorgeous kitchens Olivia can be found riding her bicycle around the country.