Winter 2007

A Fisher College Alumni Publication

Signaling Transition, College Purchases One Arlington Street

New building to serve as point of entry to campus

A new jewel has been added to Fisher College’s campus. With its chandeliers and marble fireplaces, One Arlington Street finds the College turning a corner to its future.

Built in 1861 by John Simmons, a clothing merchant whose endowment established Simmons College, and designed by architects Gridley J.F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman of Arlington Street Church and the tree-lined Commonwealth Avenue fame, One Arlington Street (OAS) is one of Boston’s defining buildings.

“With this purchase, the College expands its campus and signals its commitment to positioning itself as a vital baccalaureate institution,” said Dr. Charles C. Perkins, the College’s President.

OAS was one of the first buildings in the Back Bay. The residence was purchased in 1862 by William F. Weld, the grandfather of the former Massachusetts governor of the same name, for $55,000, and he resided there for 17 years.

OAS was owned by the Catholic Archdiocese beginning in the 1930s, just around the time that Edmund and Myron Fisher were relocating the College from its original home in Somerville to its current flagship address at 118 Beacon Street.

The League of Catholic Women used the building as a social club for decades. OAS was home to the Boston School of Modern Languages in the 1970s. Emerson College occupied the building for office space in the 1980s and, more recently, OAS was home to a health care staffing firm.

The building holds a commanding view of Boston Public Garden and the city skyline and is ideally located at the corner of Beacon and Arlington Streets.

The first floor and areas of the second and third floors will be used by the Admissions, Bursar’s, and Financial Aid offices. Prospective students and their families will be inspired by the impressive decor.

One Arlington Street and photographs of detailed ornaments found throughout the building.

The second floor ballroom—an ideal space for public and alumni functions—features two marble fireplaces and tall windows. Faculty offices and seminar rooms will occupy the fourth and fifth floors. The Athletics Department and an exercise area will be in the basement, which provides entry to a courtyard that fronts Beacon Street.

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