Boston’s Newest Landmark: Ferdinand’s Blue Store (Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building)

The Boston Landmarks Commission has designated the historic portion of the Bruce C. Bolling Building—also known as the Ferdinand’s Blue Store—as a Boston Landmark. Long central to the civic, cultural, and commercial life of Nubian Square, this designation recognizes the site’s lasting significance and ensures its preservation for future generations.

Ferdinand’s Blue Store has long been an anchor of Nubian Square (formerly Dudley Square) in Roxbury, but in recent decades it has also become an interesting case study in adaptive renovation and has sparked conversations about what is worthy of being preserved. It has also just become Boston’s newest designated Landmark.

The conversion of the former Ferdinand’s Blue Store into the Bruce C. Bolling Building is what is called – often derisively – a “facadectomy.” A facadectomy is the act of retaining the facade of a building while constructing a new structure behind it. It is a compromise between development and preservation, but preservationists often oppose it because it results in the loss of significant original building material and interior spatial layouts. However, it can also be a successful strategy to preserve the outward-facing architectural face that defines the character of a streetscape while allowing for deteriorated structures and finishes to be removed and replaced by new spaces that are better suited to contemporary use. 

In the case of Ferdinand’s Blue Store, the building was a key commercial anchor of the neighborhood from its construction in 1895 until 1971, but it fell out of use in the 1970s and then sat vacant for decades. This coincides with a period in Roxbury’s history that saw more than a third of its residents displaced due to discriminatory redlining practices, urban renewal projects, and underinvestment in the neighborhood.

In 1989, a group of concerned Boston residents filed a petition with the Boston Landmarks Commission to designate the building as a Landmark. The petition was accepted by the Commission for further study and placed on the list of sites in need of a study report.

In 2007, Mayor Thomas M. Menino unveiled his administration’s Dudley Vision Project, which aimed in part to create a new municipal center in Dudley Square. Fortunately, it was decided to retain and preserve the historic facade of the Ferdinand’s building under the guidance of Building Conservation Associates, while building a new center behind it.

Staff of the Boston Landmarks Commission decided to move forward with the production of a study report on the potential designation of Ferdinand’s Blue Store. Following the completion of a study report this year, the Landmarks Commission voted unanimously on November 12, 2025, to pass the designation based on the historic and architectural significance of the site. The Mayor and City Council also approved the designation. 

The Landmark designation ensures the protection of the historic facade of the Ferdinand’s Blue Store and the air space above the five-story portion of the Bolling Building facing the intersection. This was stipulated to retain the prominence of the original shape and massing of the historic building at the intersection.

To quote from the Boston Landmarks Commission study report, written by consultant David Shaw with the support of staff:

"…Perhaps in a world absent of discriminatory redlining and viciously destabilizing urban renewal projects, Ferdinand’s could have survived…. Yet, even with its new purpose and complex heritage, the facade remaining from the old Blue Store exterior stands as a visual testament to ambition, effort, and considered innovation, as well as a model for future residents and professionals if appropriate lessons are retained. For its history, its beauty, and the utterly essential insight it offers toward the best and worst aspects of modern community reform, Ferdinand’s has earned its place in Roxbury’s rich lineage and deserves its recognition on the roster of Boston’s singular historic locations."

The preservation of the historic facade as part of the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building won a preservation award from the Boston Preservation Alliance in 2016, the Harleston Parker Medal from the Boston Society of Architects in 2016, and a silver medal from the Rudy Bruner Awards for Urban Excellence in 2017. 

More information about Ferdinand’s Blue Store can be found in the study report for this property.