Ferdinand's Blue Store Study Report

The Boston Landmarks Commission has posted a study report on the proposed designation of the Ferdinand's Blue Store (Bruce C. Bolling Building) in Roxbury as a Landmark under Chapter 772 of the Acts of 1975, as amended.

Renowned furniture retailer Ferdinand’s Blue Store contributed significantly to the development of Roxbury’s principal business district, Dudley Square (now called Nubian Square), during the late 19th century and into the mid- 20th centuries. The store’s presence was one of the most notable in Dudley Square as the area evolved into a dense, urban commercial and transportation center. The business made a name for itself throughout Greater Boston and the New England region.

Although the facade of the store is the only part that remains, it is a distinctive remnant of a late-19th century department store that is representative of a physical link to the past, documenting the rise of Dudley Station and the eponymous square as an important turn-of-the-20th-century transportation and commercial center.

In 2007 the Boston Redevelopment Authority acquired the building as part of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Dudley Vision Project to gut the Ferdinand’s interior, rebuild it as a municipal space, and preserve and adapt the facade. In 2008, the team of Mecanoo and Sasaki won the design competition for the project. The transformation was completed during the administration of Mayor Martin J. Walsh. In 2014 Mayor Walsh recommended to the City Council that the structure be named the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in honor of the council’s first Black president. The building opened to the public in April 2015. It is the headquarters of the Boston Public Schools and also contains generous space for retail businesses and nonprofits.

Read the Ferdinand's Blue Store Study Report

There are two ways to provide feedback on this potential Landmark designation:

Written feedback can be provided until November 11, 2025, by visiting this link: feedback form
The study report will be discussed at a public hearing on November 12, 2025. Members of the public are invited to attend this hearing and provide comments there as well. Please look for the hearing notice in the public notices section of our website. Hearing notices are posted no later than ten days in advance of the hearing.