American Ancestors® is a national nonprofit center for family history, heritage, and culture based in Boston. Since its founding in 1845, it has set the gold standard for genealogical research. Today, they serve more than 400,000 members and offer one of the world’s largest online collections of family history resources.

Schwartz/Silver’s collaboration with American Ancestors began as a conceptual study to reimagine their newly acquired building adjacent to the organization’s existing headquarters on Newbury Street. The project includes creating a new, more welcoming and inclusive entrance and Family Heritage exhibit at street level, as well as renovating education spaces and the main reading room, and adding new staff offices and support spaces on the upper floors. Upgrades to bring both structures up to code include new fossil fuel–free mechanical systems, comprehensive fire protection to safeguard both people and collections, and universal accessibility throughout the new and renovated areas.

American Ancestors is also home to the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center, which preserves New England’s Jewish history, and 10 Million Names, a project dedicated to recovering the names of enslaved men, women, and children in pre- and post-colonial America prior to emancipation.

The new Family Heritage Experience is an interactive, state-of-the-art exhibition designed by the Experience Alchemists that will introduce visitors to the joy of family history research. Head on over to Newbury Street to check out your own family heritage!

Collaborators

Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, IT: Landmark Facilities Group
Civil Engineer: Nitsch Engineering
Landscape Architect: Kyle Zick Landscape Architecture
Code Consulting: Cosentini
Geotechnical Engineer: McPhail
Cost Estimating: FV Consulting
Lighting Design: Available Light
Acoustic/AV Design: Cavanaugh Tocci
General Contractor: Shawmut Design & Construction
Photography: Claire Vail/American Ancestors