142 Berkeley Street - Boston, MA
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 42° 20.919 W 071° 04.322
19T E 329334 N 4690566
This building has a lot of detailed art throughout the outside wall with especially intricate leaf or fern-like designs surrounding the center entrance.
Waymark Code: WMM85Q
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2014
Views: 5
In Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, at the corner of Berkeley St and Columbus Ave., is this building that has an intricately designed outside wall, with the most surrounding the center entrance.
The building is located on the northwest corner of the intersection, about a block from the Back Bay Railroad/Orange Line MBTA subway station.
The building has a warm sandstone exterior standing five stories tall. Carvings can be found allover, but the most is right around the center door, with the address number 142. The designs are very intricate, where parts overlay or swirl around other parts. Shields with rings around them are placed to the upper right and left of the door. An arch surrounds the door and there is a decorated base to the arch on either side of the door. In addition to this part, look at the rounded pilasters between the windows, and the arches over the 4th floor windows. There are archways over other doors, as well.
According to the web site link below, this building is known as either the Youth's Companion Building or the Pledge of Allegiance Building, where the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was born. I could not directly confirm this, but a minister by the name of Francis Bellamy did pen the words. The Youth's Companion was a publication, that, I believe, first published his pledge. The building was built 1890 - 1892, and the architects were William Cummings Richardson and Henry W. Hartwell.
Additional Source:
Wikipedia (Pledge of Allegiance):
(
visit link)