Boston Fed Tower Photos & Discussion

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DZH22

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3/29 from Arlington. Looks like [Winthrop Tower] will block most of The Fed from here.

IMG_7459 by David Z, on Flickr
 
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The federal reserve is one of the few actually iconic skyscrapers in Boston. Its extremely unique and recognizable but not in a gimmicky or cheap way. It managed the extremely hard task of looking like nothing else in form when built, and even still today is not similar to almost anything else, while still being a recognizable and palatable shape. Being so unique can easily lead to disaster but at the fed it led to a home run, this should not be under appreciated.

Not only has it not aged badly since completion either, but its become even more iconic as more time passes with it still being a 1 of 1 that looks good and commands its presence on the skyline while also seamlessly fitting in with its neighbors. The fed should be more appreciated for how it balances the task masterfully of being completely unique, while still fitting in to its place on the skyline.
 
I sat and ate many lunches next to the Fed and it definitely grew on me. It has this spartan retro future vibe, like sets from Bladerunner and JJ Abrams' Star Trek had a baby, and that is very different than other Fed buildings. The others rely on stolid grandeur, Greco Roman and Baroque piles meant to convey in stone the Fed's permanence. Ours is totally left of center and truly unique.
 
HarvardP said:
I sat and ate many lunches next to the Fed and it definitely grew on me. It has this spartan retro future vibe, like sets from Bladerunner and JJ Abrams' Star Trek had a baby, and that is very different than other Fed buildings. The others rely on stolid grandeur, Greco Roman and Baroque piles meant to convey in stone the Fed's permanence. Ours is totally left of center and truly unique.
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Important to differentiate the undeniably iconic and distinctive sculptural form of the tower from the disaster that is the plaza/street-level interaction.

The plaza is as bleak, windswept, lonely, anti-human, inhospitable (though mercifully on a smaller scale) as City Hall Plaza was (but hopefully won't be, post-renovation). You surely experienced that intimately during all of said lunches.

Now, we all know the rationale/justification for said conditions--maintaining the Fed's security 24/7. But does that mean conditions have to be like that permanently? Or can GSA, the Greenway, MassDOT, etc. come together to think of ways to creatively humanize the space without sacrificing security mandates? A tall order, perhaps...
 
Why is that federal reserve building so tall/ big ? Is it filled ? How many people can possibly work there ? Btw (I love the building, so Boston so iconic in design and stature, uniquely timeless)
 
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617 said:
At risk of being off topic - why is that federal reserve building so tall/ big ? Is it filled ? How many people can possibly work there ? Btw (I love the building, so Boston so iconic in design and stature, uniquely timeless)
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Google is your friend:

The Boston Fed has about 1200 employees. To get a sense of the range of activities a regional Federal Reserve office is charged with, visit their website:
https://www.bostonfed.org/Home.aspx
 
DBM said:
Important to differentiate the undeniably iconic and distinctive sculptural form of the tower from the disaster that is the plaza/street-level interaction.

The plaza is as bleak, windswept, lonely, anti-human, inhospitable (though mercifully on a smaller scale) as City Hall Plaza was (but hopefully won't be, post-renovation). You surely experienced that intimately during all of said lunches.

Now, we all know the rationale/justification for said conditions--maintaining the Fed's security 24/7. But does that mean conditions have to be like that permanently? Or can GSA, the Greenway, MassDOT, etc. come together to think of ways to creatively humanize the space without sacrificing security mandates? A tall order, perhaps...
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What? Is this sarcasm?

The landscaping around the Fed is pretty much Exhibit A of how government/security buffers SHOULD be designed in order to best foster permeability and street life. "Bleak, windswept, lonely, anti-human, [and] inhospitable" it is not. Move along Atlantic Ave (and to a somewhat lesser extent Summer St) and you'll see plenty of lush, well-landscaped, thoughtfully designed, and welcoming spaces all incorporated into the Fed buffer. Parts of it come across as basically a better-maintained-Greenway, and one can easily each lunch on the Fed grounds and not even realize they're in a Federal security area. Compare that to just about any other Federal building (e.g., Kennedy, O'Neil, and Volpe just in urban Boston), and the Fed is top of its class.

The Congress St and Dot Ave fronts are not nearly as good. But their shortcomings (which are 100% typical for Federal buildings) just show how much better the Atlantic and Congress St frontages are.

City Hall Plaza post-renovation aspires to be the Boston Fed. I wouldn't be surprised if the docs for the City Hall Plaza redesign cite the Fed as inspiration.

Now the need for security anything is another question, but if you're going to have security buffers the Boston Fed is the way to implement them.
 
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^^ I concur with "basically a better-maintained-Greenway"

36312675831_760dbb5740_b.jpg
 
JumboBuc said:
What? Is this sarcasm?

The landscaping around the Fed is pretty much Exhibit A of how government/security buffers SHOULD be designed in order to best foster permeability and street life. "Bleak, windswept, lonely, anti-human, [and] inhospitable" it is not. Move along Atlantic Ave (and to a somewhat lesser extent Summer St) and you'll see plenty of lush, well-landscaped, thoughtfully designed, and welcoming spaces all incorporated into the Fed buffer. Parts of it come across as basically a better-maintained-Greenway, and one can easily each lunch on the Fed grounds and not even realize they're in a Federal security area. Compare that to just about any other Federal building (e.g., Kennedy, O'Neil, and Volpe just in urban Boston), and the Fed is top of its class.

The Congress St and Dot Ave fronts are not nearly as good. But their shortcomings (which are 100% typical for Federal buildings) just show how much better the Atlantic and Congress St frontages are.

City Hall Plaza post-renovation aspires to be the Boston Fed. I wouldn't be surprised if the docs for the City Hall Plaza redesign cite the Fed as inspiration.

Now the need for security anything is another question, but if you're going to have security buffers the Boston Fed is the way to implement them.
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Agreed. The Boston Fed plaza is the very best example of security landscaping I have seen anywhere. Highly functional as a security barrier, it still creates enviting landscaped areas and street interaction. People use and ENJOY the area a lot.
 
JumboBuc said:
What? Is this sarcasm?

The landscaping around the Fed is pretty much Exhibit A of how government/security buffers SHOULD be designed in order to best foster permeability and street life. "Bleak, windswept, lonely, anti-human, [and] inhospitable" it is not. Move along Atlantic Ave (and to a somewhat lesser extent Summer St) and you'll see plenty of lush, well-landscaped, thoughtfully designed, and welcoming spaces all incorporated into the Fed buffer. Parts of it come across as basically a better-maintained-Greenway, and one can easily each lunch on the Fed grounds and not even realize they're in a Federal security area. Compare that to just about any other Federal building (e.g., Kennedy, O'Neil, and Volpe just in urban Boston), and the Fed is top of its class.

The Congress St and Dot Ave fronts are not nearly as good. But their shortcomings (which are 100% typical for Federal buildings) just show how much better the Atlantic and Congress St frontages are.

City Hall Plaza post-renovation aspires to be the Boston Fed. I wouldn't be surprised if the docs for the City Hall Plaza redesign cite the Fed as inspiration.

Now the need for security anything is another question, but if you're going to have security buffers the Boston Fed is the way to implement them.
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Well, we agree to disagree. The landscaping is undeniably lush and inviting as you say. But to get to it--and I was just looking at from Google Maps, birds-eye view, to reinforce my memory from all the times I'm commuting out of South Station--you have to cross a wide expanse of plaza that I find sterile. And the Congress St. frontage as you note is monotonous as well. I guess we're just thinking about this in different ways...
 
Everything about the architecture and design of the Boston Fed is atrocious and hideous.

That includes the plaza, which would be lovely in an office park in Waltham.

It also includes the building itself, which looks like something Mussolini would've built had he lived 25 years later than he did and is a smear on the skyline.
 
itchy said:
Everything about the architecture and design of the Boston Fed is atrocious and hideous.

That includes the plaza, which would be lovely in an office park in Waltham.

It also includes the building itself, which looks like something Mussolini would've built had he lived 25 years later than he did and is a smear on the skyline.
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1617572031116.png
 
I dont get the love for the Fed either. The tower looks like it was inspired by an old school laundry washboard. The base and plaza are typical streetscape-killing brutalist crap.
 
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JSic said:
I dont get the love for the Fed either. The tower looks like it was inspired by an old school laundry washboard. The base and plaza are typical streetscape-killing brutalist crap.

Sorry for the ot btw.
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OK really at least try to be reasonable. You don't provide "streetscape" in a Federal Reserve Bank building. It is just not done due to the security risk. Fed buildings so not do mixed use/street level retail....

If the street level looks like it is a fortress, well frankly it is. Form follows function.
 
617 said:
At risk of being off topic - why is that federal reserve building so tall/ big ? Is it filled ? How many people can possibly work there ? Btw (I love the building, so Boston so iconic in design and stature, uniquely timeless)
Click to expand...

I have some personal knowledge relevant to this question. Not every person in that building works for the Bank. When I worked there, it was in a private sector job, for a company that wasn't even banking industry. There are consultants, lawyers, and non-banking sector financial services jobs in that building along with the government jobs.
 
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HenryAlan said:
We really should move the Federal Reserve Bank discussion elsewhere, but I have some personal knowledge relevant to this question. Not every person in that building works for the Bank. When I worked there, it was in a private sector job, for a company that wasn't even banking industry. There are consultants, lawyers, and non-banking sector financial services jobs in that building along with the government jobs.
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Also note that unlike other government buildings, the Fed complex is owned by the Federal Reserve Bank (not the GSA) and is assessed as Commercial Class A property (not U.S. Government property / exempt). So the Boston Fed pays full property taxes on their building like any other commercial landlord would; other government buildings pay no property tax to the City.
 
^ Interesting, didn't know that. I was a bike messenger years ago and made a number of deliveries here to regular old private office clients. Aside from some extra security upon entering the building, it more or less functioned as just another office building to me.
 
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