The U.S. city of Boston has over 220 high-rises, the majority located in the Financial District and the Back Bay neighborhood. In the city, there are 27 buildings that stand taller than . The tallest structure in Boston is the 60-story Hancock Place, better known to locals as the John Hancock Tower, which rises 790 feet (241 m) in the Back Bay district. Hancock Place is also the 46th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest building in Boston is the Prudential Tower, which is high.

Boston's history of skyscrapers began with the completion in 1893 of the 13-story Ames Building, which is considered to be the city's first high-rise. Boston went through a major building boom in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in the construction of over 20 skyscrapers, including Hancock Place and the Prudential Tower. The city is the site of 16 skyscrapers that rise at least 500 feet (152 m) in height, more than any other city in New England. Based on existing and under-construction buildings over tall), the skyline of Boston is ranked second in the Northeast (after New York City) and tenth in the United States.

As of June 2008, Boston has three major proposals to build skyscrapers within the next five years. The largest of these proposals is Trans National Place, which, if constructed, would become the new tallest building in the city at 1,175 feet (358 m). If built, the skyscraper would also rank among the tallest in the United States; only three existing buildings in the country are taller. Another proposal is the South Bay Tower, which, at 800 feet (244 m), would become the city's second-tallest structure. A third major proposal for the city is the South Station Tower, which would become the city's fifth-tallest building, assuming that both Trans National Place and the South Bay Tower are constructed.

Tallest buildings

This lists ranks Boston skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Coordinates	Notes
01.01	Hancock Place		01.0790 (241)	60	1976		162nd-tallest building in the world, 46th-tallest in the U.S.; has been the tallest building in Boston and New England since 1976; more commonly known as John Hancock Tower; tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1970s
02.02	Prudential Tower		02.0749 (228)	52	1964		70th-tallest building in the U.S.; the Skywalk, the highest observation deck in New England, is located on the building's 50th floor. Tallest building in the city constructed in the 1960s
03.03	Federal Reserve Bank Building		03.0614 (187)	32	1976		Tallest building in Boston's Financial District
04.04	One Boston Place		04.0601 (183)	41	1970		Tallest building in the Government Center neighborhood of Boston
05.05	One International Place		05.0600 (183)	46	1987		Tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1980s
06.06	First National Bank Building		06.0591 (180)	37	1971
07.07	One Financial Center		07.0590 (180)	46	1983
08.08	111 Huntington Avenue		08.0554 (169)	36	2002
09.09	Two International Place		09.0538 (164)	35	1992		Tallest building in the city completed in the 1990s
10.010	One Post Office Square		10.0525 (160)	40	1981
11.011	One Federal Street		11.0520 (159)	38	1975		Originally known as the Shawmut Bank Building
12.012	Exchange Place		12.0510 (156)	40	1984
13.013	60 State Street		13.0509 (155)	38	1977
14.014	One Beacon Street		14.0505 (154)	37	1971
15.015	One Lincoln Street		15.0503 (153)	36	2003
16.016	28 State Street		16.0500 (152)	40	1970
17.017	Custom House Tower		17.0496 (151)	32	1915		Tallest all-hotel building in Boston; tallest building in the city constructed in the 1910s
18.018	Berkeley Building		18.0495 (151)	36	1947		Also known as the Old John Hancock Building; tallest building in Boston constructed in the 1940s
19.019=	33 Arch Street		19.0477 (145)	33	2004		Most recently completed skyscraper in the city
19.019=	State Street Bank Building		19.0477 (145)	33	1966		Also known as 225 Franklin Street
21.021	Millennium Place Tower I		21.0475 (145)	38	2001		Tallest building in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood
22.022	125 High Street		22.0452 (138)	30	1991
23.023	100 Summer Street		23.0450 (137)	32	1974
24.024	Millennium Place Tower II		24.0446 (136)	36	2001
25.025	McCormack Building		25.0401 (122)	22	1975
26.026=	Keystone Building		26.0400 (122)	32	1971
26.026=	Harbor Towers I		26.0400 (122)	40	1971

Tallest buildings by pinnacle height

This list ranks Boston skyscrapers based on their pinnacle height, which includes radio masts and antennas. As architectural features and spires can be regarded as subjective, some skyscraper enthusiasts prefer this method of measurement. Standard architectural height measurement, which excludes antennas in building height, is included for comparative purposes.

Rank	Name	Pinnacle height ft (m)	Standard height ft (m)	Reference
1	Prudential Tower	907 (276)	749 (228)
2	Hancock Place	790 (241)	790 (241)
3	One Financial Center	683 (208)	590 (180)
4	One Beacon Street	623 (190)	505 (154)
5	Federal Reserve Bank Building	614 (187)	614 (187)
6	One Boston Place	601 (183)	601 (183)
7	One International Place	600 (183)	600 (183)
8	First National Bank Building	591 (180)	591 (180)
9	111 Huntington Avenue	554 (169)	554 (169)
10	Two International Place	538 (164)	538 (164)

Tallest under construction, approved and proposed

This lists skyscrapers that are approved, proposed, or under construction in Boston and planned to be at least tall, but are not yet completed structures.

Name	Height* ft (m)	Floors	Year (est.)	Status	Notes
Trans National Place	01.01,175 (358)	75	2012	Proposed	If completed, would become the tallest building in Boston.
Aquarium Garage Development		70	2010	Proposed	Would violate zoning on height limit for buildings on waterfront.
South Bay Tower	02.0800 (244)	67	2008	Proposed
Congress Street Tower 1	03.0702 (214)	52		Proposed
South Station Tower	04.0621 (189)	41	2012	Approved	Construction is scheduled to begin 2009.
Copley Place Tower	05.0569 (173)	47	2012	Proposed	Would be tallest residential building in the city. Proposed to be built over Copley Place's anchor store, Neiman Marcus.
Congress Street Tower 2	06.0551 (168)	42		Proposed
One Franklin Street	07.0495 (151)	38	2010	Under construction	Also referred to as the Filene's Complex.
101 Clarendon Street	08.0420 (128)	35	2012	Approved	Site preparation began late 2007, but as of July 2008 project is on hold due to lack of funding.
Nashua Street Residences	09.0415 (127)	37	2014	Approved
Russia Wharf	10.0395 (120)	32	2010	Under construction

* Table entries without text indicate that information regarding building heights, floor counts, and/or 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 usually regarded to be the Ames Building, completed in 1893. However, since the 13-story building did not surpass the steeple of the Church of the Covenant, 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.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height feet / m	Floors	Coordinates	Reference
Old North Church		193 Salem Street	1745–1810	08.0175 / 53	1
Park Street Church		1 Park Street	1810–1867	07.0217 / 66	1
Church of the Covenant		67 Newbury Street	1867–1915	06.0236 / 72	1
Custom House Tower		3 McKinley Square	1915–1964	05.0496 / 151	32
Prudential Tower		800 Boylston Street	1964–1976	04.0749 / 228	52
Hancock Place		200 Clarendon Street	1976–present	03.0790 / 241	60

Notes

A. New York has 216 existing and under construction buildings at least 500 ft (152 m) in height, Chicago has 107, Miami has 37, Houston has 31, Los Angeles has 22, Dallas has 19, Atlanta has 19, San Francisco has 18, Las Vegas has 17 and Boston has 16. Source of Skyline ranking information: SkyscraperPage.com diagrams: New York, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston.

References

General

• Emporis.com - Boston

Specific

External links

• Boston Skyscrapers and Construction on archBOSTON
• Diagram of Boston skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage
• Boston structures on Structurae
• City of Boston building and land value assessment website