A Downtown Hub Is Missed, and a Replacement Is Stalled

The original Filene’s Basement opened in Boston in 1909 and served as a heart of the community.




It was razed two years ago, and a $700 million tower, with a replacement store, was to rise at the site. The project was halted by the recession.


A Downtown Hub Is Missed, and a Replacement Is Stalled
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
Published: September 11, 2010

BOSTON — Two years have passed since the demolition of Filene’s Basement, where generations of Bostonians tussled over cut-rate designer clothes in a dingy but fiercely loved downtown store.

In its place, a $700 million tower was to rise with offices, condominiums, a hotel and a new Filene’s for the bargain hungry. But the recession halted the project, possibly for good, leaving Boston with a deserted construction pit in one of its busiest neighborhoods.

“I hate to walk by it every day,” said Donna DePrisco, whose jewelry store sits a block from the fenced-off hole. “Everyone misses the place. Even some of my multimillionaire customers who could shop anywhere tell me how much they miss it.”

While such scars on the landscape are common these days, cities that gave up iconic buildings or businesses for outsize projects that may now never happen are suffering from a rising sense of regret.

In Providence, R.I., a crumbling brick facade is all that remains of the landmark Providence National Bank building, which was razed in 2005 to make way for a now-canceled residential tower.