Prudential Tower

Prudential Tower
Vertical panoramic view of the Prudential Tower
Map
Record height
Tallest in Boston from 1964 to 1976[I]
Preceded byCustom House Tower
Surpassed byJohn Hancock Tower
General information
TypeOffice, Observation, Restaurant, Retail
Location800 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts
02199
Coordinates42°20′49.78″N 71°04′57.08″W / 42.3471611°N 71.0825222°W / 42.3471611; -71.0825222
Construction started1960
Completed1964
Height
Antenna spire907 feet (276 m)
Roof749 feet (228 m)
Technical details
Floor count52
Floor area1.2 million square feet (111,484 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)The Luckman Partnership
DeveloperBoston Properties
The Prudential Tower as seen from the Back Bay, near the intersection of Commonwealth and Massachusetts Avenues.

The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, the Pru,[1][2] is an international style skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was designed by Charles Luckman and Associates for Prudential Insurance. Completed in 1964, the building is 749 feet (228 m) tall, with 52 floors, and (as of January 2021) is tied with others as the 114th-tallest in the United States. It contains 1.2 million sq ft (110,000 m2) of commercial and retail space. Including its radio mast, the tower's pinnacle height reaches 907 feet (276 m).[3]

A 50th-floor observation deck has been the highest such location in New England open to the public, as the higher observation deck of the John Hancock Tower has been closed since the September 11 attacks in 2001. Scheduled to close permanently on April 18, 2020, the Prudential's "Skywalk" was closed until further notice in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] In June 2023 the top three floors opened as View Boston, consisting of a 52nd floor enclosed observation deck and gift shop; a 51st floor bar and al fresco observation deck with tables, chairs, and some couches; and a 50th floor bistro requiring reservations.[5]

  1. ^ Burge, Kathleen (16 July 2006). "Made You Look!". The Boston Globe. p. C1. Retrieved 2013-07-24.subscription required
  2. ^ Feeney, Mark (3 February 1998). "The Homely Landmark's a Skyscraper We Can't Stop Looking Down On, But in '65, It Gave The City a Big Boost". The Boston Globe. p. C1. "'The Pru' everyone calls it: a resigned shrug of a name, as flat and uninflected as the wan moue its pronunciation requires."
  3. ^ "Prudential Tower". SkyscraperPage.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference TopOfHubClosed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Experience Boston: Observation Deck, Dining & Shopping". View Boston. Retrieved 2023-07-19.