City Of Boston: Parker House Study Report

Press release from the City of Boston:

November 1, 2021

The Parker House was the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States until the COVID-19 pandemic, when the hotel shut down for the first time since their opening in 1855. It has since re-opened.

Early innovations in pricing and fine dining positioned the Parker House for success in its long history. The products of its kitchens, most notably the Parker House Roll and Boston Cream Pie, gained national attention.

Throughout the years, the Parker House has been the host of many prominent figures in history, including Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Charles Dickens lived in the Parker House while writing his famed work "A Christmas Carol" and performed it for members of The Saturday Club at the Parker House. Important historical figures who worked at the Omni Parker House include Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh. The hotel’s long association with Massachusetts politicians and political events, given its location on the direct line between Old City Hall and the Massachusetts State House, also contributes to its significance.

Elegantly designed and well-crafted, the main building (1927) at the corner of School and Tremont streets is a tribute to both the Classical Revival style and the craftsmanship of the twenties. The Parker House Annex (1897) facing Bosworth Street demonstrates the careful attention paid to detailing even on a small back street, to signify that this building was part of an elegant, first-class hotel facility. Although it has undergone some exterior alterations (primarily at the uppermost levels), the property retains a high degree of integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.  

Read the Parker House study report

1. Written feedback can be provided by visiting this link: feedback form.
2. The study report will be discussed at a public hearing on November 23, 2021. Members of the public are invited to attend this hearing and provide comments there as well. Please look for the meeting notice in the public notices section of our website.

The Parker House was the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States until the COVID-19 pandemic, when the hotel shut down for the first time since their opening in 1855. It has since re-opened.

Early innovations in pricing and fine dining positioned the Parker House for success in its long history. The products of its kitchens, most notably the Parker House Roll and Boston Cream Pie, gained national attention.

Throughout the years, the Parker House has been the host of many prominent figures in history, including Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Charles Dickens lived in the Parker House while writing his famed work "A Christmas Carol" and performed it for members of The Saturday Club at the Parker House. Important historical figures who worked at the Omni Parker House include Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh. The hotel’s long association with Massachusetts politicians and political events, given its location on the direct line between Old City Hall and the Massachusetts State House, also contributes to its significance.

Elegantly designed and well-crafted, the main building (1927) at the corner of School and Tremont streets is a tribute to both the Classical Revival style and the craftsmanship of the twenties. The Parker House Annex (1897) facing Bosworth Street demonstrates the careful attention paid to detailing even on a small back street, to signify that this building was part of an elegant, first-class hotel facility. Although it has undergone some exterior alterations (primarily at the uppermost levels), the property retains a high degree of integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.  

Read the Parker House study report

This press release was produced by the City of Boston. The views expressed here are the author’s own.