Boston City Architect position is established.

The position is created in the wake of the Great Fire of 1872 in an attempt to reduce costs. George Clough is the first Boston City Architect. He is succeeded by Charles Bateman (1883), Arthur Vinal (1884-1888), Bateman (1888), Harrison Atwood (1889-1890), and Edmund March Wheelwright (1891-1895. Due to problems completing buildings under different city architects and scandals involving contracts, the position is eliminated in 1895.