Upham's Corner Comfort Station, Boston - Paul & Niki Tsongas Award

The Upham's Corner Comfort Station - now known as Comfort Kitchen, is a 2023 Paul & Niki Tsongas Award recipient! The Upham’s Corner Comfort Station sits adjacent to and is part of the Dorchester North Burying Ground, which is both a city of Boston Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The charming building was constructed as a public amenity, but since its closing in the 1970s, has not served a public use. After the building fell into disrepair, the City proposed to demolish the Comfort Station, but the neighborhood objected to this idea and advocated for its reuse. Historic Boston, Inc., undertook this challenging restoration project and believe its new use and appearance on the main thoroughfare in Upham’s Corner is a noteworthy community improvement. The newly restored Upham's Corner Comfort Station provides an alternative to fast food in the neighborhood with its new occupant, Comfort Kitchen. It's now a community gathering place rather than a sign of neglect and disinvestment. In the time that HBI has been rehabilitating this building, other preservation projects in the neighborhood have begun and the diverse neighborhood is flourishing. HBI is grateful to the community partners that made the project happen, including The American City Coalition, the local Main Streets district, neighbors who attended meetings and provided crowdsourcing funds, and Comfort Kitchen's partners that provided economic development funding and planning support.

Congratulations to the Upham's Corner Comfort Station, Comfort Kitchen and all of their project team members!

Click here to learn more about this and other 2023 award recipients!