Peter Fuller Building

The Peter Fuller Building is a historic commercial building located at 808 Commonwealth Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Peter Fuller Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Peter Fuller Building
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Location	808 Commonwealth Ave., Brookline, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°21′1″N 71°6′19″W
Built	1927
Architect	Kahn, Albert
Architectural style	Classical Revival
MPS	Brookline MRA
NRHP reference No.	85003269[1]
Added to NRHP	October 17, 1985

Description and history

This five-story limestone-faced building occupies a prominent position on Commonwealth Avenue near the south end of the BU Bridge. It was designed by the prolific architect Albert Kahn, a noted designer of industrial buildings, and built in 1927 for the Cadillac Auto Company. It is one of the few Boston-area buildings designed by Kahn, who did extensive work designing automobile-related industrial facilities in the American Midwest. This building stood at what was then a gateway position leading to a row of automotive dealerships along Commonwealth Avenue, and was designed to be a local flagship showroom for the luxury Cadillac line.^[2] It gets its name from Peter D. Fuller, president of the Cadillac Automobile Company of Boston.^[3] It ceased to be a car showroom in 1978, when Fuller closed his dealership, citing high overhead costs.^[4] It was purchased by Boston University (BU) the following year.^[5] In 2020, the building became home to the Howard Thurman Center, a center for student life at BU.^[6]

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 17, 1985.^[1]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Brookline, Massachusetts