Ames - Boston

Designed by Rockwell Group in collaboration with Morgans’ design team, Ames is a rich blend of historical ingenuity and innovative modernism.
The Romanesque structure which houses the hotel originally operated as the corporate headquarters for the Ames family’s agricultural tool company, a history that Rockwell Group and Morgans’ design team have adopted and interpreted through a modern lens. “I cannot imagine a better opportunity to design and restore our first hotel in Boston than working with Morgans Hotel Group on the transformation of the historic, 19th century Ames building into a hotel,” says David Rockwell, CEO and founder of Rockwell Group. “We really wanted our design to reflect a contrast of eras, where the historical context and Ames family history would merge with a modern framework to bring a fresh, new experience to the hospitality market in Boston.”

Boston’s status as a historical destination  served as a key inspiration for the design team, who have preserved many of the building’s original features such as the grand staircase, vaulted mosaic ceiling and robust exterior.

The lobby features two original landmark elements: an original listed mosaic, barrel-vaulted ceiling, and a dramatic white marble staircase with cast iron banister and mahogany rail. The centrepiece is a dazzling “Mirror Chandelier” installation which comprises thousands of reflective discs and mimics the traditional hotel chandelier. Designed exclusively for Ames by East London art collective Studio Roso (comprising Royal College of Art graduates Rolf Knudson and Sophie Nielson), the installation works within the parameters of the existing lobby space to create an ever-changing and transient sculpture that incorporates the elements that typify the studio’s work: nature, shadows, reflections, colours and overlapping effects.

The historic nature of the building has allowed Rockwell Group to play with crafted features and modern twists on older designs. Scattered around the lobby are original site specific installations such as a ceramic wall art work made up of many layers of hand cast porcelain tiles to create the effect of a ridge behind the reception area.

Just off the lobby, the two-storey restaurant, Woodward, is a modern day inn named after a tavern once owned by Almanac author Nathaniel Ames. The design centrepiece of the tavern is the ‘Cabinet of Curiosity,’  – a Victorian shelving unit custom-made by craftsman Ian Ingersoll, which boasts a selection of sculptures and objects curated by local Boston artist Sally Brooks Moore. The 200+ ‘found’ objects on display relate to agriculture, in a nod to the Ames family history. A series of original Windsor chairs, epoxied in high gloss white finish are scattered throughout the restaurant, complementing the brick walls washed in a milky enamel and wood. Tractor bar stools by Thomas Mozer accompany the reclaimed wood and hand-rubbed brass bar.

The hotel offers 95 guestrooms, one apartment and six deluxe one-bedroom suites. Stepping out of the elevator into the corridors, guests encounter a “Pepper’s Ghost Illusion,” a theatrical inference of an illuminated, crystal chandelier, seemingly floating behind the mirrored wall. An illusionary technique, used in theatre and magic, uses plate glass and special lighting techniques to make objects seem to appear and disappear, or make one object seemingly morph into another.

The ninth floor apartment offers space for entertaining and features an expansive living and dining room with restored Ames arched windows and dark oak flooring.  The apartment is furnished with a vintage, tufted velvet chaise lounge re-upholstered with metallic velvet, sectional Moroso sofa, Rockwell dining table with mismatched spool legs and a carrara marble top, and a tufted patent leather bench by Italian design house Meritalia. A cream silk and viscose rug and polished chrome four-poster bed sit beneath a white feather drum chandelier.

With Ames, Morgans design team and Rockwell Group have continued the tradition of the ‘hotel as theatre’. Rockwell Group’s focused attention to detail along with a sense of narrative continuity has been kept throughout the entire hotel, offering a consistent yet theatrical finish.

Ames
1 Court Street
Boston, MA 02108, United States
Tel: +1 617 979 8100
www.ameshotel.com

Rooms 113 guestrooms (inc 6 suites and 1 apartment)
Dining Woodward
Facilities Gallery Meeting Space