Say something good about One Beacon Street

J

JSic

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The quintessential 1960's/70's building block tower:

One-Beacon-Street-Boston.jpg
 
Upon completion, it was the fourth tallest building in Boston.

It has some ground floor-ish retail-ish.

It's facade is coherent.

That's all I have.
 
It keeps out rain. (As far as I know)
 
It is brown. And brown is the color of wood.
 
It has an apt identity, namely, "boom, there's some boring office shit going on in here, man."

When you see it in the skyline, it lets you know to look slightly to the left or to the right to see other buildings.
 
Some call it One Beacon Street, but its truest most profoundly loyal devotees affectionately refer to it as 42.35844°N 71.06083°W.
 
It was clearly inspired by the natural tones of a bamboo wall

depositphotos_3794832-Bamboo-wall.jpg
 
The background building by which all other background buildings are measured.

My favorite bit is the rooftop antenna.
 
The lobby is nice, and it probably has some nice views on the higher floors.
 
It wasn't designed by Albert Speer, nor did it win the Stalin Prize for architecture.
 
Nice one, tobyjug

How about:

It reminds Secretary of State John Forbes Kerry, whenever he steps out of his Louisburg Square pied-a-terre to perambulate over the crest of Beacon Hill and down the backside for a tasty sandwich at Sam LaGrassa's, that, but for the saving grace of being born a Boston Forbes, he could've grown up in any dreary drab uncultured Midwestern cowtown, where these towers are thicker than flies on excrement... and the trajectory of humankind would've been forever altered.

Alternatively: it has yet to topple catastrophically southwards across Beacon St., and thereby has not set off a cataclysmic chain reaction/domino effect whereby hundreds of Suffolk Univ. faculty/staff/students get pancaked inside 73 Tremont St. before it, too, topples catastrophically onto the poor Granary Burying ground, thereby desecrating the final resting places of Franklin, Adams, Paine, and countless other heroes and commoners of the Revolutionary generation. I repeat, that has not yet happened, to my awareness.
 
The hurricane force down drafts are lovely in the summer heat.

The plaza out front is delightfully lifeless.
 
CHARLES-RIVER-VIEW.jpg


This is probably the most utilitarian tall building in town. It's like an old pickup truck. Maybe it's time for a retro-mod...

If they'd clean up the cladding, install contemporary glazing, and light the top at night, it might not "sing," but it could at least carry a tune.
 
I think it lost a few big tenants in the late 90's (e.g. Commercial Union) so the owner gussied it up some about 15 years ago. (Before that, used to use it as a rainy day respite on walks to the SJC/Appeals Court/etc.)
 
It presumably has one of the highest tax assessments in the city... so that's good. (?)
 
It opens up the street a bit on Beacon to permit nice views of King's Chapel.

It has planters and knee walls low enough that people can sit on them on both Beacon and Tremont.

I can't think of anything good to say about the Somerset side once you get past the stairs.

Probably pays more in taxes to the City than most of the universities and by that measure is a proper citizen of Boston.
 
It contributes significantly and reliably to the tax base. This is important.

Its great bulk prevents Beacon Hill from flying off into space on low-gravity days. I realize not everyone will accept this as a plus.

It reminds me of my childhood, when the Orioles ruled the American League and crud like this was beshat liberally upon the land (not just here in Boston). If we could bring back the late 60s / early 70s prowess to the Birds while leaving behind the architecture of that era, I could coast down the slope into my dotage a happy camper.
 
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