List of Famous Boston Buildings & Structures

Reference
Updated June 9, 2017 25.5K views197 items

List of the famous landmarks that make up the Boston skyline, listed alphabetically with photos when available. Boston architectural landmarks as well as other major buildings, dwellings, and other structures in Boston are included on this list. Information about these Boston buildings is included on this list, such as when the building first opened and what architectural style it falls under. List includes both new buildings in Boston and older historic landmarks.

List is made up of many different buildings, including Massachusetts General Hospital and Faneuil Hall.

This list answers the question, "What are the most famous buildings in Boston?"

This is a good reference for research into the historical architecture in Boston. Famous architectural houses within the city of Boston are included as well, sometimes by address, other times listed by the name of the original home owner.
Photo: monkeyatlarge / flickr / CC-BY 2.0

  • 100 Summer Street

    100 Summer Street is a high-rise building located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The building stands at 450 feet with 32 floors, over 1.03 million square feet of office space, and was completed in 1974. It is currently the 23rd-tallest building in Boston. The architectural firm who designed the building was Welton Becket and Associates. 100 Summer Street is notable for the distinctive bronze tint of its windows. It was designed in a U-shaped footprint to accommodate a small public plaza.
    • City/Town: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • Opened: Jan 01 1974
    • Created By: Welton Becket

  • 101 Clarendon Street

    101 Clarendon Street, also known as Columbus Center, was a proposed skyscraper planned for Boston, Massachusetts. If completed, it would have stood as the 25th-tallest building in Boston. Continuing on the trend established by the Prudential Tower in 1964, the completed building would have concealed more of the Massachusetts Turnpike by utilizing air rights above it. The location would have been above the turnpike, directly to the east of Back Bay station and south of Copley Square in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The project would have "united the city’s Back Bay and South End neighborhoods." The project was put on what was then a temporary hiatus in March 2008 with the developers ...more
    • City/Town: Massachusetts, USA
    • Opened: Jan 01 2009

  • 111 Huntington Avenue

    111 Huntington Avenue is a Boston skyscraper. Located on Huntington Avenue, it is part of the Prudential Center complex that also houses the Prudential Tower. Completed in 2002, the tower is 554 feet tall and houses 36 floors. The building is the tallest skyscraper built in Boston since 1987 and is Boston's eighth-tallest building. It won the 2002 bronze Emporis Skyscraper Award. It is sometimes given the unofficial nickname The R2-D2 Building after the Star Wars droid's top.
    • City/Town: Massachusetts, USA
    • Opened: Jan 01 2002

  • 125 High Street

    125 High Street is a 30 floor postmodern highrise in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Standing 452 feet tall, the highrise is currently the 22nd-tallest building in the city. 125 High Street has approximately 1.8 million square feet of Class A office space. It was designed by Jung Brannen Associates.
    • City/Town: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • Opened: Jan 01 1991
    • Created By: TRO Jung Brannen

  • 28 State Street

    28 State Street is a modern skyscraper in the Government Center neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1969, it is Boston's 16th-tallest building, standing 500 feet tall, and housing 40 floors. It has been known as the New England Merchants Bank Building and the Bank of New England Building. The building has a rectangular footprint which is then setback once near the top floor. The tower does not have a crown and in fact has a flattened roof. It was designed by Emery Roth & Sons and Edward Larrabee Barnes Associates and developed by Cabot, Cabot & Forbes.
    • City/Town: Massachusetts, USA
    • Opened: Jan 01 1970

  • 33 Arch Street

    33 Arch Street is a contemporary highrise in the Financial District and Downtown Crossing neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. The building was completed in 2004 after three years of construction, which began on June 5, 2001. It is tied with the State Street Bank Building as Boston's 19th-tallest building, standing 477 feet tall, and housing 33 floors. The 33rd floor is 392 feet above grade and the top of the cooling tower screen is 429 feet above grade. It was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects.
    • City/Town: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • Opened: Jan 01 1966