Boston, Massachusetts, unlike New York or Chicago, is not a city well known for its skyscrapers, which unfortunately means that Boston’s skyscrapers go largely unnoticed by both the casual observer and architectural expert. But if one were to take a little time to note some of Boston’s early taller buildings, they would be pleasantly surprised by both their architecture and their history.
Winthrop Building (1893) This can be considered Boston’s first "skyscraper," if you define your terms according not to height, but according to bearing. A "mere" nine stories, the Winthrop is Boston’s first building not to be bear its load in its walls, but in its skeletal steel framework. In many ways, the Winthrop can be argued to be Boston’s most beautiful and least noticed skyscraper. Gently sloping down from a crowded Lower Washington Street corridor, the Winthrop follows the natural curves of both the natural topography and the streetscape and is, arguably, the most "organic" of the city’s "tall" buildings. The builders didn’t attempt to conquer the landscape but allowed themselves to be guided by the local environment.
Custom House Tower (1915) This tower, when it first appeared on Boston’s skyline, was never considered an architectural gem. But, today, the Custom House is both a very beloved landmark and a living symbol of an historical age. When built, this Federal Government building, at nearly 500 feet, literally towered over Boston whose zoning laws restricted private-sector buildings to a limit of no more than 125 feet. (The Custom House would not be eclipsed until fifty years later, when the Prudential Tower was constructed.) Its landmark clock, with its 10 feet-plus long wooden hands, is arguably one of Boston’s most enduring images of the 20th Century. Today, site lines of the clock tower are protected by Boston’s zoning regulations. Of special note is the tower’s base. It is the previous Custom House. Literally. The granite structure, completed in 1847, became the base for the 20th Century tower. The limestone clad steel tower is literally sitting atop its stone predecessor. Today, the Custom House Tower is a Marriott property.
United Shoe Machinery Building (today "The Landmark") (1930) Once home to the New England shoe conglomerate, this tower is truly one of Boston’s lovelies. In 1928, a change in Boston’s zoning regulations finally allowed for the "skyscraper," and the very first privately constructed tower in Boston was the USMB. A caveat to the height allowance was the "step-back" doctrine. Meaning, the higher a building would aspire, the more removed from the street it must be. So the higher the USMB goes, the more narrow it becomes, ultimately to be capped off by a beautifully tiled pyramid (which is beautifully lit at night). At street level, one finds retail windows and entrances that are gorgeously framed by gilded Art Deco relief. This is Boston’s best representation of the 1920s.
Hancock Building (1947) Located across the street from its better known and younger partner, the Hancock Tower, the Hancock Building is a stately and quietly Art Deco building, which nicely captures the energy and attitudes of those early post WWII years in Boston. Like the United Shoe Machinery Building, there is a stepped pyramid at the top, but atop that there is a weather beacon whose colored lights have been sharing the forecast with Bostonians for over 50 years; Clear blue, clear view / Flashing blue, clouds due / Steady red, rain ahead / Flashing red, snow ahead. (During the summer months, flashing red is used to announce that a Red Sox home game has been officially called due to rain.)
