Former home to jewelers falls short of landmark status

Preserving a century-old Back Bay building that houses one of Boston's oldest businesses might not seem like a challenge. Much of the neighborhood is protected by the city as part of the Back Bay Architectural District.

But the former Shreve, Crump & Low building at Boylston and Arlington streets falls just outside the protected district. And the Boston Landmarks Commission recently rejected a petition by residents to grant landmark status to the former home of the famed jewelry store. Roysin Bennett Younkin , a Landmark Commission architectural historian, said that it did not meet the district's "very high threshold of significance" that requires a building to be more than a local landmark. A spokeswoman for the building's owner, developer Ron Druker , said that although the commission made the right decision, no decision has been made on the building's future.

"We're certainly thinking about plans for the building, but we have no firm concept in mind," said Diana Pisciotta. "It's an interesting site and presents a lot of opportunity, but it's not clear yet what if anything we will do with the site."

If its former 1910 building stood on the other side of Boylston, its future would be fairly secure because it would fall within the architectural district, said architect Tim Mitchell , who lives and works in the Back Bay. But the block of Boylston Street between Arlington and Berkeley streets, where historic buildings line both sides of the street, is vulnerable, he said.

Shreve, Crump & Low moved one block down the street a year ago, into the former FAO Schwarz building at Boylston and Berkeley.

Residents will keep researching its former building's history and file a new petition if they discover new evidence of historical value, Mitchell said.

The jewelry store, founded in 1796, added Art Deco flourishes to the building when it moved there in 1930, said Sarah Kelly , Boston Preservation Alliance's executive director.

RON DePASQUALE