Common Boston Festival This Weekend In Fort Point & Beyond

The Common Boston Festival, a program of the BSA Foundation, is a unique opportunity to discover and explore the region's rich architectural, cultural, and historic resources. On Saturday and Sunday June 3 and 4, 2017, more than  50 sites throughout Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline will open their doors to the public free of charge, allowing people to explore their city environment and deepen their knowledge of their community. From innovative wood shops and rooftop gardens to 300 year old houses and Tiffany stained glass adorned sacred spaces, Common Boston's diverse range of sites sheds light on the great and hidden architecture of Boston. For a complete list of sites and to download the catalog click here.

Here is what is going on in and around Fort Point:

BSA Space
Museums and Galleries | 290 Congress St, 02210
Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 10am–5pm | 617.391.4027

The design of Boston's leading center for architecture and design creates a single gesture of a soffit, a monumental stair, and a billboard to make BSA Space both visible and accessible to the public. BSA Space is home to the Boston Society of Architects/AIA and the BSA Foundation. The space hosts exhibitions, walking tours, and other programs that encourage collaboration. The exhibition currently on view is The New Inflatable Moment, which explores the resurgence of inflatable installations in
architecture. Wheelchair Accessible. Built in 2011, designed by Höweler + Yoon.

Community Boat Building
Community Spaces | 21 Liberty Dr, 02210
Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 12pm–6pm | 617.428.0155

This 4,300 square foot space is an open design suitable for building 10-foot wooden skiffs. The construction process of the boats teaches Boston Public Schools students about teamwork, mathematics, design, and spatial relations. It helps to fire students’ imaginations, provide access to launch boats, and give students a place to assess the marine environment. Community Boat Building is able to occupy its current space through offsets stipulated by the Chapter 91 Public Waterfront Act. Wheelchair Accessible. Built in 2014.

District Hall
Innovation | 75 Northern Ave, 02210
Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–6pm | 617.982.3213

Built on the site of the former waterfront rail yards, the building is inspired by the area’s industrial past. It is composed of two basic volumes: a long, low bar references box cars that once populated the site, and an angular shell recalls the shipping industry’s boats and waterfront warehouses. District Hall is the first freestanding, city-championed innovation center of its kind in the country. Inside, find a restaurant and café, workspaces, and classrooms. District Hall’s mission is to build, strengthen, and connect individuals and communities of innovators.Wheelchair Accessible,  Built in 2013, designed by Hacin + Associates.

L Street Power Station
Innovation | 776 Summer St, 02127
Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–6pm | 617.904.7000

Built at the turn of the 19th century as a power plant that supplied much of Boston’s growing energy needs, L Street Power Station was operated as a power plant through the beginning of the 21st century. It was purchased in a joint venture between Hilco and Redgate in April 2016 who plan to redevelop it into a vibrant, arts- and industry-themed, mixed-use project that celebrates its special history. The main turbine hall of the station is open to CB17 visitors. Built in 1903, designed by Boston Electric Company.

Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage
Sacred Spaces | 51 Seaport Blvd, 02210
Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–11am, 12:45pm–6pm,
Mass Sunday 11am–12:45pm | 617.268.8100

Built in the 1950s to serve fishermen, longshoremen, and their families, the Chapel moved to a new site this year to better serve local workers. The new chapel retains much of its nautical heritage with a ceiling patterned after the hull of a ship and walls inscribed with the prayer “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters…” It is a beautiful house of prayer, intimate in size, but majestic in its elements. Wheelchair Accessible. Built in 2017, designed by Cram and Ferguson Architects.