Aerials



I am continuously transfixed by this one. Suggested caption:

"During the years 1966-1976, while the world was consumed by Vietnam, the Cold War, national wars of liberation, and various civil rights movements, Boston transformed unimaginably. For decades, it had languished as an ossified, provincial backwater--a national byword for 'parochialism.' But a surge in dynamism--as symbolized by its central business district's rapid proliferation of skyscrapers--catapulted the city back into the ranks of the leading global metropolises, a status it arguably had not held since the mid-1920s.

Taken sometime in 1970, this picture captures the dramatic metamorphosis at its frenetic midpoint, with multiple construction cranes visible. We start at the center-right with 225 Franklin Street, aka 'The State Street Building.' When it opened in 1966, the 477-foot pinnacle flooded the Boston office market with nearly 943,000 sf of office space--a prelude of much to come. Three years later, 28 State Street debuted, a 500-foot tower that added an additional 572,000 sf to the office market. Immediately to the left of the 28 State Street, we see the finishing touches being put on 1 Boston Place, a behemoth 600' structure that brought another 802,000 sf of office product onto the market. On the far left, at the foot of Beacon Hill, 1 Beacon Street is just starting to go vertical. When it opened in 1971, the 505' building added another 1 million sf of office space. Ranging eastward to the Congress St. corridor, 100 Federal Street is well underway. The largest of all these towers by office space, the mammoth 591' tower would bring 1.23 million sf to the market in 1971. Just two blocks east of 100 Federal Street, 99 High Street, aka 'The Keystone Building,' has had its foundation excavated. Upon its 1971 debut, the 400' building would bring 730,000 sf of space to the office market.

Thus, in just a half-decade, a half-dozen new office buildings, each towering more than 400', added 5.3 million square feet to Downtown Boston's office market. The next half-decade, bringing us to 1976, saw even more stupendous vertical growth. In 1974, 100 Summer Street opened. the 452' tower added 1.12 million sf to the office market. That same year, work was underway on 1 Federal Street, a 520' structure which, when it opened in 1976, added another 1.12 million sf of office space to Downtown. The relentless pace would continue unabated, as 60 State Street and the Federal Reserve Building would both debut before the close of the 1970s. If one were to measure solely by the emergence of its new skyline, there was no question about it: Boston was back."
 
Last edited:
Found photos, as usual for this thread.

1638515221909.png


1638515249247.png

 
For the curious, that's Broadway near Teele Square.

I wasn't, but now that you mentioned it, I think I found my old house in Davis! So that's pretty cool.
 
Last edited:
Wow, I didn't realize Roosevelt Towers Housing Project was so close to Boynton Yards and thus to the new Union Square GLX stop. The proximity to GLX will be a real game changer for East Cambridge.
 
Had to shoot one of the properties at bottom today so that means we get to do the ol' 360 lookaround

51843337796_c3f37986cf_k.jpg


51844077550_36be5a476d_k.jpg


51844077505_e6a95a8d6c_k.jpg


51842400132_c67ce80297_k.jpg


51843448373_44dd9b9886_k.jpg


51843337691_124e948bd1_k.jpg


51843337671_9500dce6a6_k.jpg


51843448318_e744a6e6f2_k.jpg


51843337596_8872bb7b78_k.jpg


51842400002_41c2b65f46_k.jpg

GREAT stuff, Kz.

I'll want to save these magnificent pics and will be astonished in 10 years at the difference!
 

Back
Top