List of tallest buildings in Boston

Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, is home to 585 completed high-rises,^[1] 37 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The city's skyscrapers and high-rises are concentrated along the roughly 2.5 mile unofficial High Spine urban corridor, which runs through planning districts from Back Bay to the Financial District and West End, while bypassing surrounding low-rise residential districts. By surface/roof height, the tallest structure in Boston is the 60-story 200 Clarendon, better known to locals as the John Hancock Tower, which rises 790 feet (241 m) in the Back Bay district.^[2] It is also the tallest building in New England and the 80th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest building in Boston by surface/roof height and the tallest by pinnacle height is the Prudential Tower, which rises 52 floors and 749 feet (228 m).^[3] At the time of the Prudential Tower's completion in 1964, it stood as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City.^[4]

Skyline of Boston's Back Bay

Skyline of Boston's Financial District

Boston's history of skyscrapers began with the completion in 1893 of the 13-story Ames Building, which is considered the city's first high-rise.^[5] Boston went through a major building boom in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in the construction of over 20 skyscrapers, including 200 Clarendon and the Prudential Tower. The city is the site of 25 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m) in height, more than any other city in New England. As of 2018^[update], the skyline of Boston is ranked 10th in the United States and 79th in the world with 57 buildings rising at least 330 feet (100 m) in height.^[6]

Since August 2017, several major development projects have dramatically altered the city's skyline, including the Millennium Tower, Avalon North Station, Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, One Dalton Street, The Hub on Causeway, and Bulfinch Crossing.^[7] In addition, there has been a continuous stream of proposals to construct skyscrapers that would rank among the tallest in the city if completed. Overall, there were 64 high-rise buildings under construction or proposed for construction in Boston.^[1]

Tallest buildings

Boston skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurements, including spires and other architectural details, but not including antenna masts, are listed below. (The letter (T) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year when a building was completed.)

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Coordinates	Notes
01.01	John Hancock Tower (200 Clarendon Street)		01.0790 (241)	60	1976	42°20′57.4″N 71°04′29.2″W	80th-tallest building in the U.S. as of 2021 Has been the tallest building in Boston, Massachusetts, and New England since 1976 Commonly known as John Hancock Tower, its original name (for John Hancock Financial), but now legally 200 Clarendon Street or Hancock Place[8] Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1970s[2][9][10]
02.02	Prudential Tower		02.0749 (228)	52	1964	42°20′49.78″N 71°04′57.08″W	112th-tallest building in the U.S. as of 2021 View Boston, the highest observation deck in New England, is located on the building's 50th, 51st, and 52nd floors. Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1960s Was the tallest building in Boston before being surpassed by the John Hancock Tower[3][4][11]
02.03	One Dalton		03.0742 (226)	61	2019	42°20′44.7″N 71°05′02.2″W	Boston and New England's tallest residential building.[12][13] Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 2010s
03.04	Winthrop Center		04.0691 (211)	52	2023	42°21′16.5″N 71°3′25.5″W	Tallest building in Boston outside of Back Bay Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 2020s[14]
03.05	Millennium Tower		04.0685 (209)	60	2016	42°21′21.01″N 71°3′33.91″W	Tallest building in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood.
03.06	South Station Tower		04.0677 (206)	51	2025	42°21′07″N 71°03′19″W	Located above South Station.[15][16] Topped out in November 2023.[17]
04.07	Federal Reserve Bank Building		04.0614 (187)	32	1976	42°21′08.55″N 71°03′14.82″W	Formerly the tallest building in Boston's Financial District[18][19][20]
05.08	One Boston Place		05.0601 (183)	41	1970	42°21′31″N 71°03′30″W	Tallest building in the Government Center neighborhood of Boston[21][22][23]
06.09T	One International Place		06.0600 (183)	46	1987	42°21′20.8″N 71°03′07.5″W	Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1980s[24][25][26]
	Bulfinch Crossing: One Congress		600 (183)	43	2023[27]		Topped off on July 15, 2021.[28][29]
11	100 Federal Street		07.0591 (180)	37	1971	42°21′18″N 71°03′22″W	Also known as First National Bank Building [30][31][32]
12	One Financial Center		08.0590 (180)	46	1983	42°21′08.6″N 71°03′23.0″W	[33][34][35]
09.013	111 Huntington Avenue		09.0554 (169)	36	2002	42°20′48.38″N 71°04′52.86″W	Second-tallest building in the Prudential Center complex Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 2000s[36][37][38]
10.014	Two International Place		10.0538 (164)	35	1992	42°21′23″N 71°03′06″W	Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1990s[39][40][41]
11.015	One Post Office Square		11.0525 (160)	40	1981	42°21′25″N 71°03′19″W	[42][43][44]
16	One Federal Street		12.0520 (158)	38	1975	42°21′24″N 71°03′25″W	Originally known as the Shawmut Bank Building[45][46][47]
17	Bulfinch Crossing: The Sudbury Residences		519 (158)	45	2020		[28]
18T	Hub on Causeway Office Tower		510 (155)	31	2021	42°21′57″N 71°03′40″W	Tallest building in the West End
	Exchange Place		13.0510 (155)	40	1984	42°21′30″N 71°03′23″W	[48][49][50]
20	60 State Street		14.0509 (155)	38	1977	42°21′33″N 71°03′23″W	[51][52]
21	One Beacon Street		15.0505 (154)	37	1971	42°21′30″N 71°03′39″W	[53][54][55]
22	One Lincoln Street		16.0503 (153)	36	2003	42°21′09″N 71°03′29″W	[56][57][58]
23	28 State Street		17.0500 (152)	40	1970	42°21′34″N 71°03′27″W	[59][60][61]
24T	Hub on Causeway Residential Tower		18.0496 (151)	45	2019	42°21′56.52″N 71°03′39.60″W	2nd-tallest building in the West End. The tallest residential building in the West End.[62][63][64]
	Custom House Tower		19.0496 (151)	32	1915	42°21′32.65″N 71°03′12.13″W	Tallest all-hotel building in Boston Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1910s Was the tallest building in Boston before being surpassed by the Prudential Tower[65][66][67]
26	Berkeley Building		20.0495 (151)	26	1947	42°20′59.78″N 71°04′21.55″W	Also known as the Old John Hancock Building Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1940s[68][69][70]
27	The Alcott		485 (148)	44	2022		Third-tallest building in the West End[71]
28T	33 Arch Street		21.0477 (145)	33	2004	42°21′21″N 71°03′28″W	[72][73][74]
	State Street Bank Building		22.0477 (145)	33	1966	42°21′22″N 71°03′15″W	Also known as 225 Franklin Street[75][76][77]
30	Ritz-Carlton Towers Boston Common - Tower I		23.0475 (145)	38	2001	42°21′11″N 71°03′47″W	[78][79][80]
31	125 High Street		24.0452 (138)	30	1991	42°21′19″N 71°03′12″W	[81][82][83]
32	100 Summer Street		25.0450 (137)	32	1974	42°21′14″N 71°03′27″W	[84][85][86]
33	Avalon North Station		449 (137) [87]	38	2016	42°21′11″N 71°03′47″W	4th Tallest building in the West End neighborhood
34T	Ritz-Carlton Towers Boston Common - Tower II		27.0446 (136)	36	2001	42°21′11″N 71°03′47″W	[88][89][90]
33T	40 Trinity Place (Raffles Boston Back Bay)		446 (136)	33	2022		[91]
36	Atlantic Wharf (Russia Wharf)		28.0436 (133)	32	2011	42°21′12″N 71°03′10″W
38T	Keystone Building		30.0400 (122)	32	1971	42°21′15″N 71°03′16″W	[92][93][94]
	Harbor Towers I		31.0400 (122)	40	1971	42°21′28.64″N 71°02′59.89″W	[95][96][97]
39+	McCormack Building		29.0322 (98)	22	1975	42°21′34″N 71°03′44″W	[98][99][100]

Boston skyline from World's End in Hingham, Massachusetts

Tallest buildings by pinnacle height

Boston skyscrapers based on their pinnacle height, which includes radio masts and antennas, are listed below. As architectural features and spires can be regarded as subjective, some skyscraper enthusiasts prefer this method of measurement.^{[citation needed]} Standard architectural height measurement, which excludes antennas in building height, is included for comparative purposes.^[101]

Rank	Name	Pinnacle height ft (m)	Standard height ft (m)	Reference
1	Prudential Tower	907 (276)	749 (228)	[3]
2	200 Clarendon Street	852 (260)	790 (241)	[9]
3	One Dalton Street	742 (226)	742 (226)
4	Millennium Tower	698 (213)	685 (209)	[103]
5	Winthrop Center	691 (211)	691 (211)
6	One Financial Center	683 (208)	590 (180)	[33]
7	One Beacon Street	623 (190)	505 (154)	[53]
8	Federal Reserve Bank Building	614 (187)	614 (187)	[19]
9	One Boston Place	601 (183)	601 (183)	[21]
10	One International Place	600 (183)	600 (183)	[25]
11	100 Federal Street	591 (180)	591 (180)	[30]
12	111 Huntington Avenue	554 (169)	554 (169)	[36]
13	Two International Place	538 (164)	538 (164)	[40]

Tallest under construction, approved, and proposed

Buildings of at least 400 feet (122 m) tall that are under construction, approved, or proposed.

Under construction

Name	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year* (est.)	Notes
The Lyra	400 (122)	34	—	252-268 Huntington Avenue[105]

Approved

Name	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year* (est.)	Notes
Back Bay Station Residences	413 (126)	34	—	[106]

Proposed

Name	Height ft (m)	Floors	Notes
Pinnacle at Central Wharf	600 (183)	42	600' height variance approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency on March 2, 2017.[107][108]
North Station Gateway	447 (136)	40	[109][110][111]

* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding building dates of completion has not yet been released.

Timeline of tallest buildings

For most of Boston's earlier years, the tallest buildings in the city were churches with their steeples. The first skyscraper in the city is generally considered the Ames Building, completed in 1893.^[5] However, since the 13-story building did not surpass the steeple of the Church of the Covenant,^[112] it never became a city record holder. The first skyscraper to have the distinction of being Boston's tallest building was the Custom House Tower, completed in 1915.^[66]

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Coordinates	Reference
Old State House		206 Washington Street	1713–1745	08.065 (20)	3	42°21′31.57″N 71°03′28.1″W	[113]
Old North Church		193 Salem Street	1745–1810	08.0175 (53)	1	42°21′58.78″N 71°03′16.04″W	[114]
Park Street Church		1 Park Street	1810–1867	07.0217 (66)	1	42°21′25″N 71°03′44″W	[115]
Church of the Covenant		67 Newbury Street	1867–1915	06.0236 (72)	1	42°21′07.00″N 71°4′26.00″W	[112]
Custom House Tower		3 McKinley Square	1915–1964	05.0496 (151)	32	42°21′32.65″N 71°03′12.13″W	[65]
Prudential Tower		800 Boylston Street	1964–1976	04.0749 (228)	52	42°20′49.78″N 71°04′57.08″W	[3]
200 Clarendon		200 Clarendon Street	1976–present	03.0790 (241)	60	42°20′57.4″N 71°04′29.2″W	[9]

See also

• Architecture of Boston
• List of tallest buildings in Massachusetts, exclusive of Boston
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts
• List of tallest buildings in Springfield, Massachusetts
• List of tallest buildings in Worcester, Massachusetts
• Trans National Place