The Haffenreffer Restoration Begins

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The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) announces the Haffenreffer Restoration Project, a public art installation created by Boston artist Robert J. Maloney to restore the historic Haffenreffer Brewery’s smokestack to its full name and height. Thirty years ago, the top of the smokestack was removed for safety reasons, leaving it without the first three letters “H-A-F.” For years, Jamaica Plain resident and artist Maloney, who lives a block from the brewery, wondered if it could be fixed. He went to the JPNDC with his idea to fabricate a stainless steel cage to be placed atop the smokestack to repair the damaged signage. After four years of planning and funding from the George B. Henderson Foundation, the installation was completed on December 28, 2016. An unveiling celebrating the installation will take place in February 2017.

The Haffenreffer Brewery was founded by Rudolph Frederick Haffenreffer, a German immigrant who arrived in Boston after the Civil War. The brewery closed in 1965, having survived Prohibition and operating for nearly a century, leaving Massachusetts without a brewery for the first time in 300 years. The five-acre Haffenreffer complex was redeveloped by the non-profit JPNDC, which owns and operates it today and reinvests rental income in programs to support local entrepreneurs and help low-income families achieve financial security. The complex is included on the National Register of Historic Places and its 16 buildings house nearly 40 businesses and non-profits including anchor tenant Boston Beer Company (brewery of Samuel Adams), Bella Luna Restaurant & Milky Way Lounge, Mike’s Fitness, Tony Williams Dance Center, and Ula Café.  The Brewery Complex is located at 284 Amory Street in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.

“The concept for the Haffenreffer Restoration Project began as a pursuit to integrate my art into the context of the environment,” shares artist Robert Maloney. “Living 200 yards from the historic brewery for nearly 20 years, I wanted to create a solution to repair the signage as a way to honor the history of the building, while also transforming the structure, in a simple way, into the 21st century. A recurring theme in my work has been finding ways to represent the passage of time as it leaves its marks on the urban landscape. This project speaks to that intent, in my own neighborhood, just steps from my home.”

“After a lot of research it seemed the most reasonable solution was a cage-like structure that could withstand all types of weather and be mounted on the current chimney. I reached out to the JPNDC because of their incredible advocacy to revitalize Jamaica Plain as well as to the George B. Henderson Foundation who supports preserving historic appearance of the city of Boston.”

“The JPNDC is very grateful to artist Robert Maloney, who approached us with his vision, as well as to the George B. Henderson Foundation for helping fund this unique project,” says JPNDC Executive Director Richard Thal. “Our commitment over nearly 40 years has been to revive this historic complex as a job creator and community gathering place. Putting the ‘Haf’ back in the smokestack feels like the right way to respect the Haffenreffer family that invested in this community 150 years ago.”

For a detailed history of the Haffenreffer Brewery, click HERE.