John Hancock Tower - Boston, MA - Skyscrapers on Waymarking.com

In Boston, three Hancock Buildings have been built, all close to each other. The tallest and flashiest of these is usually refered to by the locals as the Hancock Tower.

At 790 ft in height and 60 stories, the Hancock Tower is the tallest building in Boston and all of New England, taking the title from the Prudential Tower nearby.

As described in several sites, this building is considered the last major building in the 'modernist' style. It is a minimalist design, with, smooth plane vertical walls from street to the top - that is, neglecting the square window frames (also a bump on Stuart Street and the main entrance). The building is close to a parallelogram-prism shape with deep grooves on the thin sides. The glass windows are tinted so that the building is slightly darker than the sky around it.

The building was once owned by the Hancock Insurance Company/Manulife Insurance Company. Now, it is owned by Broadway Partners Fund Manager LLC, of New York.

Some of its earlier problems have largely been forgotten. The Wikipedia site and its references have good descriptions, so I'll only briefly mention them here. First, they had trouble with the foundation, which ended up damaging area utilities and the Trinity Church. Second, the building completion was delayed from 1971 to 1976. Third, and most imfamously known, glass panels shattered and fell out, causing the area to be closed off (thankfully, no one was hurt and a different, single pane glass was installed.). Fourth, there was a terrible sway in the building that was solved by installing counterweights. All have been solved and there have been no other engineering/architectural flaws found since.

The top of the skyscraper was once open as an observation platform, which was a few floors higher than the Prudential Tower. However, after the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, the floor was closed and is now used only for special events. The city has tried to get them to reconsider but no progress was made.

A recent article stated that the current owners wanted to change the bottom of the building by adding another glass-enclosed area for shops. So far, nothing has happened (see link below).

All in-all, it is a sleek and pretty building that balances out the Prudential Tower in Boston's Back Bay skyline. However, much of its beauty is from the reflections of the structures around it, and the exterior covers a flawed past.

4/1/2009: Sold!
This Boston.com article reports how the Hancock Tower was sold for $20.1 million plus prexisting debt of $640.5 for a total of $660.6 million to Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners. This is far short of $1.3 billion paid in 2006 by the previous owners, who were having debt troubles.
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Sources and More Information:

Boston Globe
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Wikipedia Listing:
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Building Name: John Hancock Tower/Hancock Place Structure Height: 790 Number of Stories: 60 Year Built: 1976 Architect/Design Firm: I. M. Pei Style: International Style Use: Office Building Publicly accessible areas: Maybe the lobby. There was an observation deck that was closed to the public after September 11, 2001. Hours: Generally during business hours. Cost: None Address: 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA Building Website: [Web Link] The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) link: [Web Link]

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