The Federal Reserve Bank Building is the seventh tallest building in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. It is located at

Dewey Square Dewey Square is a square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts which lies at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue, Summer Street, Federal Street, Purchase Street and the John F. Kennedy Surface Road, with the Central Artery ( I-93) passing und ...

, on the convergence of Fort Point and the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

neighborhoods. In close proximity to the

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...

, the

Fort Point Channel Fort Point Channel is a maritime channel adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. The channel separates South Boston from Downtown Boston and feeds into Boston Harbor. The channel is surrounded by the Fort Point neighborhood, which is also named a ...

and major intermodal

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan I ...

terminal, the building is marked by a distinctive opening near ground level which allows sea breezes to pass through.

History

Built for the

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commonly known as the Boston Fed, is responsible for the First District of the Federal Reserve, which covers New England: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and all of Connecticut excep ...

to replace the 1922 building which now houses the Langham Hotel Boston, the building was completed in 1977 and is 614 feet (187 m) tall with 32 floors. It was designed by

Hugh Stubbins Hugh Asher Stubbins Jr. (January 11, 1912 – July 5, 2006) was an architect who designed several high-profile buildings around the world. Biography Hugh Stubbins was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and attended the Georgia Institute of Technology ...

of The Stubbins Associates, Inc. and was reportedly one of his favorite buildings. The design stood in contrast to that of the other Reserve Banks, which resembled

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

es. It sometimes referred to as "the washboard" building or "

Venetian Blind A window blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard mate ...

" building

Design and features

The building consists of an office tower and a four-story wing, built between December 1972 and November 1974. The office tower has a glass front and an anodized aluminum exterior, with office floors that rise from a 140-foot bridge and a 600-ton steel

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

. It features an auditorium that is named for Frank E. Morris, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston from 1968 to 1988. It was designed to meet the Bank's needs and is also available to the community, offering lunchtime concerts as well. Gardens are incorporated above street level.

List of tenants

*Aspen Specialty Insurance Co. *Cavan Group, The *ConnectEDU *

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(Consul General) - 17th Floor *Craig & Macauley P.C. * Harvard Management Company *Kforce *Krokidas & Bluestein LLP *Middleton & Company, Inc. *Peabody & Arnold LLP *Wolf, Greenfield P.C. *600 Atlantic Federal Credit Union * Partners Capital

Awards

* 2010 — United States Green Building Council (USGBC), prestigious "LEED-EB Gold designation." "LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance" is a rating system that recognizes buildings with superior operational efficiency and minimal environmental impact. * 2009 — The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Boston, "The Office Building of the Year" (TOBY). * 2010, 2008 — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "ENERGY STAR Award." * 1979 — The American Institute of Architects New England Regional Council, "AIA Award for Excellence in Architecture."

Gallery

Image:Federalreservebankboston-2.jpg, One of the small courtyards to the side of the building. File:FederalReserveBankBuildingBoston.jpg, Drone view Image:Federalreservebankboston-3.jpg, The building entrance. Image:Federalreservebankboston-4.jpg, Detail of the side, looking up. Image:Federalreservebankboston-5.jpg, Viewed from the back. Image:Federalreservebankboston-6.jpg, Parking lot security measures. Image:Federalreservebankboston-7.jpg, Position in the Financial District skyline. Federal Reserve Bank Building (36344p).jpg

In popular culture

In the 2006

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

film ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 crime film, crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-lif ...

'', in the scene where Colin Sullivan (

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...

) gets caught on the roof by undercover cop Billy Costigan (

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

), the building can be seen in the background. In 2020, the building appeared in the background of a scene in the second episode of '' Star Trek: Picard'' as Picard and Laris beam into Dahj's apartment.

References

External links

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Photos
* {{Boston skyscrapers Federal Reserve Bank buildings Buildings of the United States government in Massachusetts Skyscraper office buildings in Boston Bank buildings in Boston Government buildings completed in 1977 1970s architecture in the United States