Four buildings in Boston , Massachusetts , have been known as the "John Hancock Building". All were built by the John Hancock Insurance companies. References to the John Hancock building usually refer to the 60-story, sleek glass building on Clarendon Street also known as the John Hancock Tower or Hancock Place.
26-482: The first John Hancock Building was built on Devonshire Street in 1891. It was designed by William G. Preston . On October 2, 1919, the building was purchased by the First National Bank of Boston . In 1922, it was one of the buildings torn down to make way for the new First National Bank building. This building was torn down in 1971 and replaced by One Federal Street . In 1909, John Hancock began work on
52-518: A continuous stream of proposals to construct skyscrapers that would rank among the tallest in the city if completed. Overall, there were 64 high-rise buildings under construction or proposed for construction in Boston. Boston skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurements, including spires and other architectural details, but not including antenna masts, are listed below. (The letter (T) following
78-513: A new addition to the building on the corner of Franklin and Devonshire Streets. The addition was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in the French Renaissance architecture style. The "H type" design allowed for almost every office to have outside windows. Each floor contained marble flooring and wainscoting as well as a fireproof bank vault. The Wells Bros. Co. of New York City were the general contractors. John Hancock occupied
104-487: A rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year when a building was completed.) (158) (155) Boston skyscrapers based on their pinnacle height, which includes radio masts and antennas, are listed below. As architectural features and spires can be regarded as subjective, some skyscraper enthusiasts prefer this method of measurement. Standard architectural height measurement, which excludes antennas in building height,
130-631: A request from the John Hancock company, decided that it would be better to keep the building on the tax rolls. It was also thought that open space near the base of the tower might not be desirable, due to the tower's "wind tunnel" effect. The Berkeley Building (also known as the Old John Hancock Building) is a 26-story, 495-foot (151 m) structure located at 200 Berkeley Street, the second of the three John Hancock buildings built in Boston. The building, located in Boston's Back Bay,
156-560: A temporary building to aid in their transition to One Federal Street. The temporary building was torn down and replaced by One Federal Street. The next John Hancock building was designed by Parker, Thomas and Rice , best known as architects of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation Building . It was completed in 1922. It is located at 197 Clarendon St. across from the Hancock tower. It was known as
182-408: Is included for comparative purposes. Buildings of at least 400 feet (122 m) tall that are under construction, approved, or proposed. ft (m) * Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding building dates of completion has not yet been released. For most of Boston's earlier years, the tallest buildings in the city were churches with their steeples. The first skyscraper in
208-813: Is the 60- story 200 Clarendon , better known to locals as the John Hancock Tower, which rises 790 feet (241 m) in the Back Bay district. It is also the tallest building in New England and the 80th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest building in Boston is the Prudential Tower , which rises 52 floors and 749 feet (228 m). At the time of the Prudential Tower's completion in 1964, it stood as
234-644: The John Hancock Center in Chicago and the Sears Tower , also in Chicago. The building features a "green" (energy-efficient) dual glass curtain wall construction, making it among the first buildings in Boston to win national LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. On April 28, 2004, the then-head of Manulife's Boston operations announced that the building would be renamed
260-764: The École des Beaux-Arts in Paris , he was active in Boston, New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, New Brunswick and Savannah, Georgia, where he was brought by George Johnson Baldwin to design the Chatham County courthouse. Preston stayed in Savannah for several years during which time designed the original Desoto Hotel (1890, demolished 1965 ), the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory and 20 other distinguished public buildings and private homes. He began his professional career working for his father,
286-493: The "John Hancock Building." According to Manulife, this is not quite correct; the building, completed in fall of 2004, will house the John Hancock Wealth Management Group and will bear conspicuous "John Hancock" exterior and interior signage featuring the John Hancock logo. However, the company will refer to the building simply as "601 Congress." As of 2018, Emporis lists the official name of
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#1732781164583312-533: The "John Hancock Life Insurance Company Building." Parker, Thomas and Rice received the Harleston Parker Medal for its design in 1924. More recently, it was known as "The Clarendon Building", and circa 2001 it was renamed "The Stephen L. Brown Building" in honor of Stephen L. Brown, chairman of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. According to Donlyn Lyndon , "if you stand on the corner of Clarendon Street and St. James Avenue and look directly into
338-634: The Massachusetts Trust Company Building. In 1926 the building was purchased by Stone & Webster and became known as the Stone & Webster Building. In 1965, the First National Bank purchased the building with plans to construct their new headquarters there. The Stone & Webster Building was torn down once Stone & Webster moved out. The property was acquired by National Shawmut Bank, which constructed
364-693: The Massachusetts state legislature from demolishing Boston's historic State House , which had been designed by the noted architect Charles Bulfinch and built in 1798. Bulfinch was also an architect of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Preston ran his practice for many years from a commercial and office building located at 186 Devonshire Street. He designed Massachusetts Institute of Technology 's Rogers Building in 1864, located on Boylston Street near Boston's Copley Square , which housed
390-548: The builder and architect Jonathan Preston (1801–1888), upon his return to the United States from the École in 1861, and was the sole practitioner in the office from the time his father retired c. 1875 until he took John Kahlmeyer as a partner in about 1885. The drawings of the Preston firm, now owned by the Boston Public Library , make up "...one of the most complete sets of architectural graphics preserved from
416-431: The building as the "Manulife Tower". 42°20′54.22″N 71°04′30.07″W / 42.3483944°N 71.0750194°W / 42.3483944; -71.0750194 William G. Preston William Gibbons Preston (September 29, 1842 – March 26, 1910) was an American architect who practiced during the last third of the nineteenth century and in the first decade of the twentieth. Educated at Harvard University and
442-642: The capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England , is home to 555 completed high-rises , 37 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The city's skyscrapers and high-rises are concentrated along the roughly 2.5 mile High Spine , which runs from the Back Bay to the Financial District and West End , while bypassing the surrounding low-rise residential neighborhoods. The tallest structure in Boston
468-714: The couple had one son, Evans (1867–1900). William was an active member and fellow of the American Institute of Architects and served that organization in the office of first vice-president at the end of the 1890s. He was for many years a member of the Boston Society of Architects , and for thirty years served as its treasurer. He died at his home at 1063 Beacon Street in Brookline in 1910. List of tallest buildings in Boston Boston ,
494-594: The firm with a National Honor Award for the building, and in 2011 conferred on it the Twenty-five Year Award . It has been the tallest building in Boston for more than 30 years and is the tallest building in New England . In 2002, Manulife Financial began construction of a 14-story building in the Seaport District at 601 Congress Street ( Picture ). The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP of Chicago, designers of
520-564: The mirrored surface of the third Hancock, you will see reflected there the first two, aligned hierarchically in an ethereal family portrait." Originally, the Planned Development Area (PDA) agreement for the building of the 60-story John Hancock Tower called for 197 Clarendon to be demolished to make way for open space or a public square. In 1982, the Boston Redevelopment Authority , responding to
546-530: The nineteenth century." Many of his buildings were pictured as prints in American Architect and Building News . He is credited with the introduction of the bungalow to the United States through a house loosely of the type that he designed in Monument Beach, Massachusetts in 1879. Preston was an early historic preservationist . He was influential in the successful 1896 effort to prevent
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#1732781164583572-508: The school's architecture department. Floor plans for the building show a large, centrally located space devoted to an architectural library and museum. Drawings from the Study Collection were hung on the studio walls and numerous casts and other artifacts also lined the walls and picture rails . Preston married Estelle M. Evans (1847–1920), whose father was the wealthy real estate developer Brice S. Evans, on December 6, 1866, and
598-514: The skyline of Boston is ranked 10th in the United States and 79th in the world with 57 buildings rising at least 330 feet (100 m) in height. Since August 2017, several major development projects have dramatically altered the city's skyline, including the Millennium Tower , Avalon North Station , Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, One Dalton Street , The Hub on Causeway, and Bulfinch Crossing . In addition, there has been
624-596: The tallest building in North America outside of New York City . Boston's history of skyscrapers began with the completion in 1893 of the 13-story Ames Building , which is considered the city's first high-rise. Boston went through a major building boom in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in the construction of over 20 skyscrapers, including 200 Clarendon and the Prudential Tower. The city is the site of 25 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m) in height, more than any other city in New England . As of 2018 ,
650-609: The top three floors of the ten-story building and the Library Bureau , Eliot National Bank of Boston, and E. H. Rollins & Sons were among the first tenants. The addition gave the building frontage on Devonshire Street (176–200 Devonshire St.), Franklin Street (120 Franklin St.), and Federal Street (49–75 Federal Street). On January 3, 1920, the remainder of the building was purchased by Massachusetts Trust Company, which renamed it
676-432: Was designed by Cram and Ferguson and completed in 1947. It is known for the weather beacon at its summit, which displays light patterns as weather forecasts. The John Hancock Tower, on the southeast corner of Copley Square , is a 60-story, 790 ft (240 m) skyscraper . It was designed by Henry N. Cobb of I. M. Pei & Partners and was completed in 1976. In 1977, the American Institute of Architects presented
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