North End Architect James Alexander Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

James Alexander, FAIA, LEED AP, Senior Principal, Finegold Alexander Architects, has been awarded the Massachusetts Historical Commission 2019 Individual Lifetime Achievement Award.

Alexander is a longtime Boston resident and his firm has been in the neighborhood for the past 50 years. Among many Boston projects, Alexander’s firm is designing the renovation of all three Eliot Innovation Schools in the North End.

The award honors an individual who has 20 or more years of exemplary service in historic preservation in Massachusetts. Alexander’s contributions include The Ellis Island National Monument, Boston’s Old City Hall, Charlestown Navy Yard and the University of Massachusetts Old Chapel. Several of his projects led to the revitalization of neighborhoods including the 226 Causeway Mixed Use Development in Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle.

“[Jim’s] role has been pivotal in saving and adapting some of the Commonwealth’s most significant historic structures,” explains Tony Hsiao, Director of Design at Finegold Alexander. “Jim’s passion and leadership for preservation has positioned Finegold Alexander Architects as one of the region’s leading design firms focusing on historic preservation and adaptive use.”

Under Alexander’s leadership at Finegold Alexander, the firm has become nationally recognized for historic preservation, adaptive use, and urban revitalization projects that have preserved neighborhoods and important buildings throughout the Commonwealth and nationally.

In speaking about the award Alexander said, “I am honored to receive this award and appreciate the recognition. I am hopeful that the next generation of architects and preservationists will bring the work we have done in the re-use of treasured buildings further, with a continued focus on sustainable design. Our firm’s legacy of adaptive use and preservation is something I am most proud of, and I have to credit my predecessors, Tim Anderson and George Notter, as well as our current team of skilled architects who make it all happen.”