John Hancock Tower
- Architects
- I. M. Pei Henry N. Cobb
- Year
- 1976
- Style
- International Style
- City
- Boston, MA
The John Hancock Tower is a 60-story, 790-foot glass skyscraper in Back Bay, designed by Henry N. Cobb of I. M. Pei & Partners and completed in 1976. It has been the tallest building in New England ever since, and was built as headquarters for the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, whose name it carried until its 2015 lease expiration prompted a rename to its address, 200 Clarendon Street.
the building
Falling windows. The tower became notorious for design failures: engineers found the building could theoretically overturn under certain wind loads, and its signature blue glass windows had a flaw that let any of the 500-pound panes detach and fall from height, endangering pedestrians below.
the style
Cobb designed the tower as a sheer glass curtain-wall form, a modern counterpoint to the older masonry buildings surrounding it in Back Bay.
More on International Stylethe architect
Henry N. Cobb designed the tower while at I. M. Pei & Partners, the firm founded by I. M. Pei.
significance
The John Hancock Tower has held the title of tallest building in New England since its 1976 completion. Its original namesake tenant, John Hancock Insurance, announced in 2004 that some offices would relocate, and the building's own lease-based name lapsed in 2015 when it was renamed for its address, 200 Clarendon Street.
nearby
- Copley Plaza Hotel (interior/exterior)
- Trinity Church
- 500 Boylston Street
- Youth's Companion Building
- Berkeley Building
- New England Museum of Natural History