Paul Grogan honored for his decades of work for Boston's 'built environment'

Earlier this week, Boston Foundation President and CEO Paul S. Grogan was honored with the Norman B. Leventhal Excellence in City Building Award by A Better City. The award was presented by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, in recognition of Paul’s decades of work on behalf of Boston and cities in general.

Paul was also honored in a video tribute that included former Boston Foundation Board chairs Rev. Dr. Ray Hammond and Sandy Edgerley, and longtime Board member Kevin Phelan.

During his acceptance speech (embedded below) , Paul noted that the Leventhal Award is special to him because of the remarkable role that Leventhal, founder of the Beacon Companies, played in the revitalization of Boston at a time when the popular wisdom was that cities were dying. “He believed in this city. He saw something very different from most people (in the 1960s and 70s),” Paul noted, “And the result has been gift after gift… in the architecture and feeling that he brought with every project.”

Leventhal’s projects are visible throughout the city – including some of Greater Boston’s best-known landmarks: Center Plaza, Rowes Wharf, the Hotel Meridien, 75 State Street, and South Station, all of which were built or reimagined by Beacon.

Congratulations to Paul, and if you want to learn more about Leventhal, the Boston Globe’s Bryan Marquard wrote a comprehensive look back at Leventhal’s life and impact when he died in 2015 at the age of 97.