[POLL] Are More Skyscrapers Good for Boston?
Pending plans could mark the first major change to Boston's skyline in a quarter century.
After decades of more modest projects, Boston’s designers and architects may be reigniting a new age of Hub skyscrapers—the likes of which we haven’t seen since the 1970s.
Millennium Partners has pitched a plan to erect a 606-foot tower at the former Filene’s site in Downtown Crossing; Simon Property Group snagged approval last fall for an addition to Copley Place which would bring the site’s full height to 600 feet, and the man who once pitched a 1,000-foot tower for the Financial District is in talks with city officials again for another plan for the site.
Should any of those projects reach their full height, they would be the first new buildings in Boston to stand at least 600 feet since 1987—when the pink columns of One International Place joined the city’s skyline.
Boston’s current tallest buildings:
- Hancock Tower, 60 floors, 790 feet, completed 1976
- Prudential Tower, 52 floors, 749 feet, completed 1964
- Federal Reserve, 32 floors, 614 feet, completed 1976
- One Boston Place, 41 floors, 601 feet, completed 1970
- One International Place, 46 floors, 600 feet, completed 1986
Jay
10:12 am on Thursday, July 5, 2012
More space (building upward) means more people, means more traffic. Sustainability should be key in everything we do. I love the architecture and sky-line and jobs, but traffic is maddening in this city and surrounds.
PattyK
4:52 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012
Isn't there already an abundance of empty office space in the city already...why build more?
Dave Hermes
9:51 am on Friday, July 6, 2012
Having grown up in Chicago in the shadow of the (then) tallest building in the world, I always smile a bit when I heard Boston residents mention the word "skyscraper." It's got such a different meaning here than in other parts of the country.
I think variety in a city's skyline makes it dramatic and for that reason don't see a problem with building a few more "skyscrapers."
Plenty O'Toole
8:31 am on Sunday, July 8, 2012
Boston has become NYC with an inderiority complex.
S. Raju
12:21 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
I hate how Boston has dozens of 300 to 500 ft "skyscrapers". Downtown looks like a sea wall. No defining center, no defining landmark, no dome or pinnacle like San Francisco, or New York, or even Philadelphia. People get caught up with being "too tall" etc. If you are going to build it, make it a landmark like the Shard in London or the Bank of America Tower in Charlottle. Even Cleveland has some definitive buildings. Readers should google the above examples and then google downtown Boston. We are actually underwhelming. Lets stop building stumpy boxes and make Boston a landmark city. Not every city has the economic opportunity that Boston has, and it may not last forever. The last boom actually brought us pretty much nothing in terms of landmarks mostly due to the obstructionist BRA and citizen groups ruled by the few.
S. Raju
12:22 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
Any thoughts?
Shaun R.
8:06 pm on Friday, August 3, 2012
I have to agree with S.Raju Bostons a great city but a little lacking. I hear alot of people saying traffic and crowding but, More development might help with the economy and maybe move a big company to new england. Plus with Logan the FAA has topped us out at 1000 feet so push the envelope at 990 feet and watch people aww at the beauty.