Boston Convention and Exhibition Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boston Convention and Exhibition Center |
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Boston Convention and Exhibition Center at night.
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| Address | 415 Summer Street Boston, MA, 02210 United States |
| Coordinates | 42°20′44.84″N 71°02′45.28″W / 42.3457889°N 71.0459111°W |
| Owner | Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) |
| Operator | MCCA |
| Opened | June 2004 |
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Construction cost
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$850 million |
| Enclosed space | |
| • Total space | 2,100,000 sq ft (200,000 m2) |
| • Exhibit hall floor | 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2) |
| Parking | yes |
| Public transit access |
Silver Line
World Trade Center  |
| Website | |
| massconvention.com/about-us/contact-us/boston-convention-exhibition-center | |
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) is a huge building in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It's a place where big events, trade shows, and conventions happen. It's one of the largest centers of its kind in the Northeastern United States. The BCEC has about 516,000 square feet (which is about 4.8 hectares) of space just for exhibits! This main exhibit area can be split into three smaller sections or used as one giant space for really big shows.
The center is located on Summer Street near the South Boston waterfront. It's also close to Boston's World Trade Center and across the water from Logan International Airport. You can easily get there by public transport using the MBTA Silver Line to the World Trade Center station. This line connects directly to South Station and Logan Airport.
Contents
History of the BCEC
Why Boston Needed a New Convention Center
In the late 1990s, Boston realized it needed a bigger convention center. A large computer trade show called Macworld, which used to happen in Boston every summer, moved to New York City. People thought this happened because Boston didn't have one big enough place to hold the entire show.
So, the idea for the BCEC was born! The state government allowed land to be bought for the center in the South Boston Seaport area. This area is a bit far from most of Boston's hotels, which caused some debate. However, new hotels have been built or are planned near the BCEC to help with this.
Building and Opening the Center
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center officially opened in June 2004. It cost about $850 million to build. The famous architect Rafael Viñoly helped design it.
Macworld actually came back to Boston for the BCEC's first big trade show that summer! However, the show was smaller than before. Because of this, its last meeting in 2005 was held at the smaller Hynes Convention Center in Boston's Back Bay.
BCEC's Success and Growth
After a new Westin hotel opened nearby, the BCEC started to become very popular. In 2007, over 1.6 million people visited the convention center. These visitors booked over 1 million hotel rooms! This brought in more than $890 million for the local economy.
Many big shows started coming to the BCEC. For example, the New England Auto Show, which used to be held elsewhere, moved to the BCEC. This show alone was expected to bring in 90,000 visitors. In 2007, the BCEC was even named "Convention Center of the Year"! Other popular events included AIIM/On Demand, the Yankee Dental Congress, and eBay! Live.
The success of the BCEC led to talks about making it even bigger.
PAX East and Future Plans
In 2010, the huge gaming event PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) moved its eastern show, PAX East, to the BCEC. This event brings hundreds of thousands of attendees each year and continues to be a major show there. The last event mentioned was from February 27 to March 1, 2020.
Some people worried that the new BCEC would take away business from the older, smaller Hynes Convention Center. But this hasn't happened! The Hynes Center has actually seen more bookings too.
In 2009, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority started a plan called the "Top 5 Campaign." Their goal was to make Boston one of the top five cities in North America for conventions. Part of this plan was to have more hotel rooms in the area. In 2011, they asked for approval for a $2 billion expansion. In 2012, a large biotechnology conference said it wouldn't return in 2018 without more space.
In 2013, there were plans to add a new train service between Back Bay and the Convention Center, starting in 2015. This would make it easier for people attending conventions to stay in the many hotels in the Back Bay area. A new train station was also planned right next to the center.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Convention Center was temporarily turned into a 1,000-bed hospital to help care for patients.
Images for kids
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The 2006 LinuxWorld trade show filled about two-thirds of one section at BCEC.
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The 2007 EBay Live trade show filled BCEC.
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The 2011 PAX East event.
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The American Society for Microbiology show in 2016.
