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Now for a little skyscraper porn from yesterday.
https://flic.kr/p/GANnNV
https://flic.kr/p/FM5LFN
https://flic.kr/p/GypWmj
https://flic.kr/p/FMhF2B
Millennium Partners may be from NYC, but they have had such a transformational impact on downtown Boston. To think what this area looked like 20 years ago.
Now for a little skyscraper porn from yesterday...
Skyscraper is such a strange word in Boston.
Dont forget Boston has a population of around 650,000 people (skewed due to stoppage of annexation), but for a city that numbers wise is that small its actually a rather large skyline. Los Angeles is 3.8 million and its only a couple steps up. Dallas which is one above is 1.25 million people. I know that in "reality" Boston is much bigger and greater Boston is 4.5 million people, but within the no shit city limits of Boston there is only 650,000 people.
What is the point you are trying to make here? It would be like saying "Manhattan has a really large skyline for a city with 1.6 million people" which completely ignores the context in which the skyline developed. If you want to discuss the size of a skyline relative to population you should use the metro population since that's what high rise demand scales with.
No it really isn't that is a ridiculous statement. Boston has one of the largest skylines in the country based on buildings taller than 150 meters. It definitely doesn't get as tall at its peak as other cities but the idea that it is much shorter and stumpier than other cities as a whole isn't really very accurate.
For example:
Number of Buildings over 150 m in US cities according to CTBUH (proposed counts based on SSP diagrams)
NYC - 241 (374 with proposed)
Chicago - 116 (141)
Houston - 34 (43)
Miami - 33 (114)
LA - 23 (38)
SF - 21 (31)
Dallas - 20 (33)
Boston - 19 (28)
Atlanta - 16 (24)
Seattle - 15 (30)
Based on that Boston fits in right where I would expect and is 7th in the country overall currently.
Number of Buildings 100 m + in US cities according to the CTBUH
NYC - 765 (961)
Chicago - 302 (363)
Houston - 85 (127)
Miami - 85 (215)
SF - 83 (108)
Atlanta - 66 (92)
LA - 63 (112)
Boston - 46 (67)
Dallas - 40 (70)
Seattle 43 (98)
The order here changes some, but an interesting takeaway is that Boston has more tall buildings as a whole than Dallas yet is seen as lacking. I think part of it is the composition of the buildings and the plateau effect downtown, but regardless my point is that the perception of Boston as having a small skyline for its size is inaccurate.
tldr: Boston's skyline is as large as would be expected for a city its size based on the number of 150 m+ buildings/ skyscrapers are as common in Boston as any other city of similar size.
Boston’s tallest by 2021; rooftop heights]
I took Odurandina's list and the Bolded are the newly completed, under construction or proposed/approved
above 200m
1. John Hancock 60 stories 790’
2. 1 Dalton Street/Four Seasons 61 stories 755’ roof
3. Prudential 52 stories 750’
4. 1 Bromfield Street 59 stories 742’ mech scr top
5. 111 Federal Street 66 stories ~735’
6. Millennium Tower 60 stories 685’ mech scr top
7. South Station Tower; 49 stories 677’
above 180m
8. Govt Center (oval) office tower 43 stories + tall mech screen ~647’ mech scr top
9. Copley Place Tower 52 stories 626’
10. Federal Reserve Bank 32 stories 614’
11. 1 Boston Place 40 stories 601 ’
12. 1 International Place Tower 46 stories 600’
13. 100 Federal St (pregnant) 37 stories 591’
14. 1 Financial Center in Dewey Square 46 stories 590’
above 150m
15. 111 Huntington Avenue 36 stories 554’
16. Govt Center residential tower 45 stories 547’
17. 2 International Place 36 stories 538’
18. 1 Post Office square 40 stories 525’
19. 1 Federal Street 38 stories 520’
20. Exchange Place 39 stories 510’
21. 60 State Street 38 stories 509’
22. 1 Beacon Street 37 stories 507’
23. TD Garden Tower 1 (office) ~21 stories over podium ~505’ roof top
24. 1 Lincoln Street 36 stories 503’
25. 28 State Street 40 stories 500’
26. Custom House Tower 32 stories 496’
27. TD Garden Point 2 (resident tower) 45 stories 495’
28. Old John Hancock 26 stories 495’
below 150m
29. 33 Arch Street 33 stories 489’
30. Garden Garage/Equity Residential 44 stories 485’
31. State Street Bank 34 stories 477’
32. Ritz Carlton Tower 1 38 stories 475’’
33. 125 High Street 30 stories 452’
34. Avalon North Station 38 stories 450’
35. 100 Summer Street 32 stories 450’
36. Ritz Carlton Tower #2 36 stories 446’
37. Atlantic Wharf 32 stories 436’
38. Back Bay Station tower #1 34 stories ~435’ .gov
39. 40 Trinity Place 33 stories 412’
40. John W. McCormack Building 22 stories 401’
41. Back Bay Parcel 15 #1/Weiner Ventures 31 stories 400’
42. 380 Stewart Street/John Hancock Tower #3 26 stories 400'
43. Keystone Building 32 stories 400’
44. Harbor Tower #1 40 stories 400’
45. Devonshire Tower 42 stories 398’
46. Harbor Tower #2 40 stories 396’
47. 100 Cambridge Street/Saltonstall 22 stories 396’
48. Westin Copley Place 38 stories 395’
49. 100 High Street 28 stories 394’
50. Back Bay Station #2 (office) 24 stories 391’
51. 75 State Street 31 stores 390’
52. John F. Kennedy Fed Building 26 stories 387' (1967)
53. Marriott Copley Place 39 stories 382' (1984)
54. 101 Federal Street 31 stories 382' (1988)
55. 1 Longfellow Place 38 stories 381' (1972)
56. 4 Longfellow Place 38 stories 381' (1975)
57. 1 Christian Science 26 stories 370' (1973)
58. 45 Province Street height 31 stories 367' (2009)
59. Pierce Fenway 30 stories 367'
60. Tremont Crossing Tower #1 31 stories 365' top .gov
61. 500 Boylston Street in Copley Sq 365' (1985)
Interesting to see that Boston has always had tall structures -- most notably the 100 year old Customs House Tower and a number of churches just below the listed towers