Iconic boston buildings

The story, foot skyscraper was completed in , and is New England's second-tallest building. Modern giant and possible Nazi spy Philip Johnson was the architectural force behind this wing of the Boston Public Library's central branch. It opened in December Henry Hobson Richardson designed this iteration of the Episcopal church, which was completed in the late s the parish dates from The tower formerly known as the John Hancock is New England's tallest building at feet, a distinction it has held since the Henry Cobb-designed spire was finished in Charles Bulfinch designed the State House, which was finished in early and built on a cow pasture John Hancock once owned.

Wood shingles originally comprised its famous dome. Those gave way to copper and then to a karat gold coating which looks neat, yes, but was also practical: to prevent leaks.

The Congregational church dates from and is an unmistakable part of the Freedom Trail: It's right there toward the start and next to the cemetery containing the graves of John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and other luminaries. When its foot steeple was completed, the Park Street Church became for a time the tallest building in America.

The monument commemorates the first major battle of the Revolutionary War on June 17, Solomon Willard designed the foot obelisk, which dates from Its interior is open most days for climbing. The brutalist creation has been an architectural punching bag since its completion in , though it seems to finally be getting some positive recognition of late. Gerhard Kallmann and Michael McKinnell, then professors at Columbia, won an international competition to design the civic hub.

South Station, of course, serves as the busiest train and bus hub in New England. Originally Georgian in design, the market and assembly hall went up in the early s and had to be rebuilt 20 years later after a fire destroyed most of it.

Charles Bulfinch designed the federal-style expansion of Faneuil Hall at the start of the 19th century. What makes it iconic, though, is that it was from its foot steeple that Paul Revere learned the British were coming by sea, not land. The foot Neoclassical building, built in stages from the s through the early s, was once the tallest spire in Boston until the Pru surpassed it in It is currently an extended-stay Marriott—and still includes one of the most beautiful building interiors in the Boston area.

Pei designed the Columbia Point library and museum, which is a repository for all things JFK-related , including a permanent exhibit on his family. When she died in , her will decreed that the museum must remain exactly as she left it—with all her unique art and decorative furnishings in place.

McLauthlin Building Fulton St. The beautiful exterior remains mostly unchanged. Thrown out the window, that is. The original building, a small wooden chapel, was crafted for Anglican British officers, making it very unpopular with Bostonians in the neighborhood. The new Georgian-style chapel was built around the existing wooden structure so church services could continue during construction. This rose-granite, postmodern behemoth towers over Copley Square.

First Baptist Church Commonwealth Ave. The building is a gorgeous Romanesque bastion, similar to nearby Trinity Church, done by the same architect.

Christian Science Church Mass Ave. Welch, Charles Brigham, S. The original design, by Mary Baker Eddy herself, was in the style of a more traditional New England church before it was expanded in to the ornate landmark it is today. Serious and imperial, this building fits with the swishing of black robes, the bang of a gavel, the suggestion of justice being served. The classical structure, also known as the John Adams Courthouse, was originally a little shorter, but in the state decided that law and order required more room, so the architect added two stories.

Union Oyster House 41 Union St. The Union Oyster House is as a part of Boston as the streets themselves. This immovable Georgian cornerstone of the city seems to have stayed the same since The building has hosted numerous high-profile guests over the years, even serving as the hidey-hole for Louis Philippe, King of France, from to during his exile.

So, none of that urban renewal stuff. It was moved backward during street widening in This Beaux Arts staple is clean and classy, fitting for an elite hotel. It was built on the original site for the Museum of Fine Arts. Art Deco-style warehouses sprang up in the early 20th century, including this one at Broadway. You can still glimpse its columns, scallops, and Art Deco flourishes from the street.

This heavy building is not subtle. Huge and powerful is more like it. The Federal Reserve Bank stands solidly over the city like some angular cousin of the Easter Island heads. Skinny House 44 Hull St. Nestled between two brick buildings in the North End, this pale green structure was built in out of spite. According to legend, two brothers inherited a plot of land in the neighborhood from their father. After serving in the Civil War, one brother came home to find that his brother had built a large house on their shared land.

The 1,square-foot abode is about 10 feet wide by 30 feet long. It also has no front door from the street—the main entrance is in a side alley. Restoration Hardware Building Berkeley St.

One Dalton One Dalton St. Poised to be the tallest residential tower in New England at feet high, the building is clad entirely in glass. Kresge Auditorium W16, 48 Massachusetts Ave. The Ether Dome 55 Fruit St. General Hospital. Its rounded roof can be seen at the center of the Greek Revival structure. In recent years, the grouping of buildings has housed Crate and Barrel and Anthropologie.

The building at 42 Lomasney Way stands eerily and singularly, and with a startling amount of open space around it. Known as the Last Tenement, the three-story, yellow brick structure is the last vestige of the old West End, pre-Urban Renewal. It somehow survived when the neighborhood around it was razed, and stayed standing as train lines, highways, and the TD Garden sprang up around it. The Athenaeum is cited as one of the first major examples of the revival of Italian Renaissance architecture.

According to the Society of Architectural Historians, it became a popular style of building for cultural organizations in the late nineteenth century.

In , two floors were added to the building. They were set back so as not to disturb the original facade of the building, and brought it to a total of six levels, including the basement conservation lab.

The little abode at Clarendon St. More than a century later, in , L. An infinitely delicious—and somewhat unexpected-looking—chocolate shop seems to be a perfect fit for the cozy stucco house, no? Paramount Theatre Washington St.

Burrage Mansion Commonwealth Ave. While we happen to like them, the city is divided on how it feels. Many people have said the best thing about living in the Harbor Towers is not having a view of the Harbor Towers. To that we say: Why even move into the Brutalist beauties at all with that attitude? And yet architect Harry Cobb, who worked on the project, seems to understand. This impressive Federal-style construction stands apart from its fellow brick neighbors, thanks to unique rounded bay fronts and white columns.

It was built overlooking the Common in for a merchant named James Smith Colburn, and on land once owned by portrait painter John Singleton Copley to boot. In , historian William Hickling Prescott moved into the house, and about a century later, it was purchased by the National Society of Colonial Dames. The home is now open as a house museum select Wednesdays and Saturdays. When it was built in , however, it was the second-tallest.

The Art Deco-style tower was topped off with a weather beacon in Flashing blue, clouds due. Steady red, rain ahead. Flashing red, snow instead. If you were to climb all the way past that beautifully laid stonework and stand on top of the tower, you would be able to send a signal to the State House.

Architecturally, this Elizabethan Tudor-style house is just another example of the abundant Colonial-era buildings around Boston. Museum of Fine Arts Huntington Ave. The MFA is a masterclass in Classical architecture, inside and out. Visitors walk under Ionic columns at the entrance, climb up into a rotunda under a dome and wander through galleries whose ceilings are decked with moulding and coffers. Although the exterior is uniformly Beaux Arts, new wings and galleries inside come from the modern, postmodern, and even quasi-Brutalist movements.

Old Corner Bookstore 3 School St. Faneuil Hall 4 S Market St. Originally built in a severely traditional fashion to house meetings and markets for the city of Boston, Charles Bulfinch swooped in around to double its width, add a floor, and move the cupola from the middle to its iconic perch at the front end. Community Rowing Boathouse 20 Nonantum Rd. The boathouse, one of the few on the Charles not owned and operated by a college, looks out on the water with huge windows and lets the breeze in with wood panels that resemble the river itself.

Sunflower Castle Mount Vernon St. The Sunflower Castle blooms like a big, bright flower among more traditional Federal and Colonial-style structures. Though it was built in , it was architects Clarence Luce and Frank Hill Smith who overhauled the exterior to convert the home into a flowery residence in Today, the colorful Arts and Crafts abode is easily recognizable near the corner of Mount Vernon and Charles Streets, thanks to its petal-filled medallions carved into the walls under its eaves.

Memorial Hall 45 Quincy St. Cutler Majestic Theatre Tremont St. Saved from the wrecking ball in by Emerson College and subsequently restored by Elkus Manfredi Architects, the Cutler Majestic is, well, majestic.

From the outside, arches frame a trio of Tiffany stained-glass windows flanked by fluted Ionic columns. Inside, the atmosphere is Edenlike, as the ceiling is designed to resemble a heavenly trellis with patches of blue sky.

Old State House Washington St. It was the site of the Boston Massacre and the place where the Declaration of Independence was first read, to start. Its facade boasts a beautifully decorated clock and statues of a lion and a unicorn. South Station Atlantic Ave. Like a tiered wedding cake, South Station is a masterpiece of Neoclassical architectural highlights. Behold the only Le Corbusier creation in the entire United States. Every side of this funky structure reveals a unique perspective.

J ohn F. Pei, I. The John F. Finished in on scenic Columba Point after considering eight different sites the I. Pei creation overlooks the sea. A bright, white nine-story pyramid anchors the structure, connecting to a two-story cylinder-shaped building with help from a parallelogram of grey glass. Horticultural Hall Massachusetts Ave. Map View. This church, standing at feet from the central tower, was the first major work of architect Henry Hobson Richardson.

The interior spanning 21, feet, is beautifully decorated with murals by John La Farge and his associates. Farge created windows for the church that are now considered among the most famous of American stained glass of the time. Even though it stands in the shadow of Clarendon, its significance cannot be compared so head on over to marvel at how Trinity Church has withstood the test of time.

More info. Open In Google Maps. Visit Website. Give us feedback. Founded in and opened in as the first large, free municipal library in the U. However, when a problem arose regarding the lack of space, it was Phillip Johnson who designed the modern addition in The interior of the McKim offers a warm and welcome atmosphere.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , or Fenway Court as it was known at its inception, is the only private art collection in which the building, collection, and installations are the creation of one individual. Community Rowing Boathouse Otherwise known as Harry Parker Boathouse , this building has added character to the Charles river and its surrounding environment.

MIT Simmons Hall It might surprise you to know that this story odd-shaped building is, in fact, an undergraduate dormitory. Building, Museum, Market.