State Street HQ | One Congress | Bulfinch Crossing | West End

Yeah, Pan Am was a cooler name for the building, and the name evoked adventure and excitement "MetLife" is a bit sterile.

Yup!! The tower was there for quite a while, & it has become what all of the skyscrapers have become. An icon!! :giggle:
 
It is also a treasure trove of anachronistic, though patchwork complementary, renovations. Among smaller firms, there are nods to the Bauhaus movement, while other groups highlighted hyper contemporary and classically "Don Draper" MCM. I have only seen a few nods to international modernism (which can be captivating when done well, but often looks very Bond villain lethargic at this point). My firm leases a number of floors and leans mostly toward MCM, with a dash of post modernism.

Finally, to confirm what y'all have probably heard about that period's towers: yes, there are several "hidden" single destination express elevators, meeting grottos with double tiered windows, and even the famed living suites of olde. Wow.

The structure is one of my favorites. 1 Congress reminds me, ever so slightly, of the PanAm Wonder, as well.

The MetLife building in Manhattan is one of my all-time favorites, a classic mid-century modern, stately but full of energy and optimism,.
 
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This proposed Houston project looks quite similar...
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This proposed Houston project looks quite similar...
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Another view of the proposed Houston tower. "Head and Shoulders" above the rest (okay, okay...I know...):

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Another view of the proposed Houston tower. "Head and Shoulders" above the rest (okay, okay...I know...):

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I lived in Houston for 4 years, and this project has been delayed and postponed for years, can't remember how long it's been but I'd venture to guess since the early 2010s. Quite a frustrating proposal, at the very least Boston can say their project is well under construction, even if it isn't quite as tall.
 
Thanks to awood91's recent proposal link on the East Parcel thread, we have what might very well be the answer that many of us were looking for: the height to the top of the fin: 611'! [This is from the early August presentation]. Looks about right, I think?

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Thanks to awood91's recent proposal link on the East Parcel thread, we have what might very well be the answer that many of us were looking for: the height to the top of the fin: 611'! [This is from the early August presentation]. Looks about right, I think?

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I was hanging on the roof of Avalon where my friend lives and you can clearly see with all of the new buildings by the Garden, and with the above diagram that State Street is going all in on their treasured, unobstructed best view of the harbor that they originally had at 225 Franklin. This is a type of "dominance" in corporate tower building olympics in cities, right? Verizon has great views but I don't think anything beats the all-around view from this.

Side note: post-covid - does anyone see a competing luxury office tower trying to outdo State Street/One Congress? In terms of Sq footage I can't think of another company needing that much space - not even Amszon or Wayfair.
 

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