In defense of Boston

Don't get me wrong, it is a very handsome building. I really like the detailing. It is just stumpy. If you stretched it to the height of the Pru it would be a lot sexier.
 
I've heard a lot of complaints about the crown over the years, but I like how funky it is. And the building is terrific, though taller would have been better here.
 
CDubs said:
I've heard a lot of complaints about the crown over the years...
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Hint of the heather, courtesy of the Mayor: St. Giles. Shame the homage to St. Vincent Street Church didn't get put up next to the Tremont Temple.
 
I agree that 111 Huntington is too short, but it didn't need to be 800'-900', or even as tall as the Pru. An additional 100 feet would have been great. 650' would have really made this building. I still really like it though.
 
Looking west down Stuart Street in front of the JHT on this dreary morning, 111 was absolutely striking. Elegant yet dominant as it's crown stood against the cloudy sky. The so-called stubbiness makes the tower look more dominant as well as draw attention to the edged detail along the top of the tower as the crown forms.

I have always believed that 111, JHT, and the Custom House Tower are the greatest towers in this city and they certainly rival any of their respective counterparts in other cities.
 
my very 1st digital photo!
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Beton Brut said:
I don't think we can have this conversation without mentioning these towers.

111 Huntington is stubby and, as a result, devoid of grace. An additional 25 floors would have likely helped. That said, it's nothing that Helmut Jahn or Philip Johnson wouldn't have done in the 80's.
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True, HK has some stunning modern glass towers.

That said, I don't know how much stretching 111 Huntington would help. There's very little detail on the mid section of the tower between the base and the crown, so stretching it would only amplify the blandness of the tower's core. Maybe like JSic said, and only about 100 ft.
 
I agree, it is much to bland at the midsection to be stretched too far, but another 100' would serve 111 well. My friend's mother, who works in 111, met the architect or developer or someone involved on the project, that originally it was meant to surpass the Pru but the funding wasn't there. Any truth to this?
 
Highly unlikely. Back in the '80s when a master plan was being created for the complex the planned 111 Huntington tower was no more than maybe 50 feet taller than what it turned out to be. This image is from 1985.

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And by 1989, after the PruPAC had their say, the 111 building (and the complex as a whole) assumed the shape it would take in its final form, sans the Menino crown, which of course was a decade off from being dreamt up.

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Perhaps when they were going forward with plans for 111 in the late '90s did they kick around the idea of making it the complex's tallest, but I doubt that idea would've went far. Such a massive office building would've been a stretch even during the prosperous late '90s and early 2000s.

For more on the Pru, see my thread here.
 
WTF? That meme is so old it took me like five minutes to remember it.
 
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