Harbor Towers

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Harbor Towers
A view of the Harbor Towers from Boston Harbor
General information
Type	Residential
Architectural style	Brutalist
Location	East India Row, Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°21′28.64″N 71°02′59.89″W / 42.3579556°N 71.0499694°W / 42.3579556; -71.0499694Coordinates: 42°21′28.64″N 71°02′59.89″W / 42.3579556°N 71.0499694°W / 42.3579556; -71.0499694
Completed	1971
Height
Roof	400.0 ft (121.9 m) / 396 ft (121 m)
Technical details
Structural system	Reinforced concrete
Floor count	40
Design and construction
Architect	I.M. Pei & Partners

The Harbor Towers are two Brutalist-era 40-story residential towers located on the waterfront of the US city of Boston, nestled between the New England Aquarium and the iconic Rowes Wharf mixed use development. Harbor Towers I, the taller of the two towers, stands at 400.0 feet (121.9 m), while Harbor Towers II rises 396 feet (121 m). The towers are the 26th and 28th-tallest buildings in Boston, respectively.

Initially built as affordable rental housing, the Harbor Towers first welcomed residents in 1971. While the modern looking towers offered unparalleled harborfront and city skyline views, the architectural style, with contributions from renowned architect I.M. Pei, was out of place in the provincial New England port city. The area surrounding the project was at that time a rough, dusty warehouse district with more surface parking lots per acre than any other area of the city.^{[citation needed]} Once separated from the city's financial district by a two-story elevated highway, and from the neighboring Italian-American North End by its isolated modern look and feel, the apartments seemed apart from the city. As the area surrounding the Towers developed into a focal point of the city, this once-criticized pair of high rise buildings has become one of the city's most desirable addresses.

History

The Harbor Towers (far right) are very prominent in the Boston skyline when viewed from Boston Harbor

The Harbor Towers apartment complex was completed in 1971 by the Berenson Corporation, as an affordable housing option near Boston's financial district. The towers are well known in the architectural community, having been designed by Henry N. Cobb, who also designed Boston's John Hancock Tower and collaborated with Pei on Boston's City Hall Plaza, at I.M. Pei & Partners (now Pei Cobb Freed & Partners). At 40 stories, they are the city's tallest residential towers.^[1] Sponsored by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), as a way to bring new life to Boston's waterfront, which was at the time a seedy-looking, dusty area mostly made up of parking lots, the project became a cornerstone for future progress in the area.

Originally planned with three 40-story towers, the development only built two, along with a parking garage. The much-derided design has garnered many critics in Boston for its "brutalist" architecture, a style that was thought to be inconsistent with historic Boston. In particular, the surrounding area includes sites such as the waterfront area and the North End, which is known for its Italian community and its preservation of 17th- and 18th-century architecture.

As the growth of the city moved toward the waterfront, the unparalleled nature of the apartment tower's location, and harbor and city views drew the attention during the "condominium conversion" craze of the early 1980s. In 1981, both apartment towers started a two-year process of conversion to condominiums, with special incentives for existing renters to purchase at heavily discounted prices. Many of these early apartment renters now own several units, often combined to create breathtaking wrap-around units with as much as 5,000 square feet (460 m²) (464 square meters) of living space. Some of these "early adopters" now own multi-million dollar units, with as little as US$100,000 to $200,000 total investment. Newcomers to the building buy units for $600,000 to as much as $3,000,000, paying for the spectacular harbor and city views and also for the location, which is less than three city blocks from the city's financial district.

The more recent development of the adjacent Rowes Wharf/Boston Harbor Hotel, a landmark development of significant architectural and aesthetic significance to the city's skyline, as well as the expansion of the New England Aquarium, have made the twin towers even more desirable. The completion of the Central Artery Project (The Big Dig), with its expansive necklace of greenspace, gardens, and public space, has made these now historic apartment buildings central characters in the most costly urban improvement project in US history at the time.

The much-maligned towers have survived tremendous change along Boston's waterfront, and tenants who purchased homes early in the process have seen the largest increases in property values of any urban Boston location.^{[citation needed]}

The imposing towers with 624 units on the waterfront have been a premiere address for downtown dwellers, with some of the best views of the city and harbor. Over the decades, the towers have had minimal renovation, with the electrical, ventilation, and heating and air-conditioning systems in need of repair or replacement. Since a 2002 report by R.G. Vanderweil Engineers LLP that documented corrosion of heating and cooling water pipes, the buildings' systems have been studied by multiple engineering firms and consultants.

Architectural details

The apartments are organized in a pinwheel fashion around a central core, and are made of cast in place reinforced concrete. The concrete exterior balconies have a giant zipper-like appearance against the flat facade.^[2]

The stainless steel sculpture at the base of the buildings is Untitled Landscape by David von Schlegell, and was created in 1964.^[1] It is often mistaken for solar panels.

School district

Any school-age children living in the towers are eligible for the Boston Public Schools. For elementary and middle school, students may apply to:

Any school within the location's "assignment zone"
- In this case, the North Zone
Any school within the location's "walk zone," regardless of the school's "assignment zone."
- Eligible "walk zone" schools not citywide and not within the North Zone: Gavin Middle School
Any citywide elementary school, middle school, and K-8

All high schools are "citywide."

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 The Boston Harborwalk: Places To Go...: Downtown/North End: India Wharf / Harbor Towers
↑ AIA Guide to Boston, Susan and Michael Southworth, page 66-67

External links

v t e Skyscrapers in Boston

Current	10 St. James Avenue 100 Federal Street 100 Summer Street 101 Arch Street 101 Merrimac Street 111 Huntington Avenue 116 Huntington Avenue 125 High Street 125 Summer Street 131 Dartmouth Street 133 Federal Street 1330 Back Bay Fens 145 High Street 155 Federal Street 160 State Street 18 Tremont Street 20 Custom House Street 222 Berkeley Street 226 Causeway Street 230 Congress Street 24 Federal Street 245 Summer Street 25 Channel Center 260 Franklin Street 265 Franklin Street 28 State Street 30 Winter Street 33 Arch Street 330 Beacon Street 330 Stuart Street 399 Boylston Street 40 Court Street 45 Province Street 48 Beacon Street 50 Milk Street 50 Staniford Street 500 Boylston Street 545 Boylston Street 60 State Street 695 Atlantic Avenue 73 Tremont Street 745 Atlantic Avenue 75 Kneeland Street 8 Winter Street 855 Boylston Street 888 Boylston Street 99 Summer Street Ames Boston Ames Building Ansin Building Archstone 2000 Commonwealth Archstone Boston Common Babcock Tower Back Bay Hilton Back Bay Manor Berkeley Building Biewend Building Boston City Hall Boston Renaissance Charter School Boston Schools Central Administration Building Boston Veterans Administration Hospital BostonView Apartments Boylston Apartment Tower Brighton Landing East BUMC Instructional Building Carson Tower Apartments Cathedral Housing Center for Life Science Boston Building Chamber of Commerce Building Charlesbank Apartments Chauncy House Claflin Hall Colonnade Residences Council Tower Courtyard Boston Tremont House Courtyard Boston Custom House Tower Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Tower Doubletree Guest Suites Boston Duggan House Education Schools Tower Edward M. Scolnick Research Center Eight Whittier Place Exchange Place Fairfield Apartment Tower Fairfield Tower Federal Reserve Bank Building Fegan Building Feldberg Building Fiduciary Trust Building Folio Boston Four Seasons Hotel Boston Frank Sawyer Building Franklin Square Apartments George R. White Memorial Building George W. Thorn Building Gloucester Apartment Tower Greenhouse Apartments Harbor Towers I Harbor Towers II Harborside Hyatt Hotel Harvard School of Public Health building Holiday Inn Select Boston Hotel 140 Human Nutrition Research Center Hyatt Regency Boston Financial District Independence Wharf InterContinental Hotel and Residences Boston Jamaicaway Towers John F. Enders Pediatric Research Laboratory John Hancock Tower Karp Family Research Laboratories Kenmore Tower Keystone Building Kresge Building Landmark Center Lawyers Building Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Levinson Tower Liberty Hotel (Charles Street Jail) Liberty Mutual Building Liberty Mutual Tower Little Building Longwood Galleria Apartments Macallen Building Manulife Tower Market Place Center Marshall Tower Martin Luther King Towers Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women's Health Mass College of Art Tower Mass Pike Towers Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary McCormack Building Millennium Place Tower I Millennium Place Tower II Morville House Nathan R. Miller Hall National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory Neville House New England Telephone & Telegraph Building Nine Hawthorne Place Nine Zero Hotel Northeastern University Dormitory Omni Parker House One Beacon Street One Boston Place One Charles One Devonshire Place One Eighty Beacon One Emerson Place One Exeter Plaza One Federal Street One Financial Center One International Place One Liberty Square One Lincoln Street One Marina Park Drive One Post Office Square One State Street One Washington Mall One Western Avenue Onyx Hotel Park Lane Seaport I Park Lane Seaport II Park Plaza Hotel Parkside West Piano Row Residence Hall & Max Mutchnick Campus Center Prudential Tower Quincy Tower Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel Reservoir Towers Residences at Mandarin Oriental Rich Hall Rowes Wharf Russia Wharf Saltonstall Building Seaport Hotel Sheraton Boston Hotel North Tower Sheraton Boston Hotel South Tower Shields Tower Six Whittier Place Sleeper Hall Smith House Smith Research Laboratories South Block, Tower 1 South Block, Tower 2 State Street Bank Building State Street Trust Building Student Village Residence Halls II Student Village Residence Halls Suffolk County House of Correction Symphony Plaza East Symphony Plaza West Tai Tung Village A Tai Tung Village B Taj Boston Hotel Addition Taj Boston Hotel Ten Emerson Place Ten Post Office Square Tent City Apartments The Grandview The Heritage on the Garden The Kensington The Landmark at Federal The Metropolitan Boston The Newbry The Revere Hotel at the Boston Common The Victor The Westin Boston Waterfront Tower at Brigham and Women's Hospital Tremont on the Common Trilogy Trinity Place Tupper Building Two Financial Center Two Hawthorne Place Two International Place Unity Building Unity Tower Vesta at West End Apartments W Boston Hotel & Residences Walnut Park Apartments West Village A West Village H William J. McCarthy Building World Trade Center East World Trade Center West Wyndham Boston Hotel

Under construction	100 Berkeley Street 11 Fan Pier Boulevard 120 Kingston Street Avalon Exeter Berklee College of Music Dorm and Dining Facility Boston Wharf Tower One Fan Pier Boulevard Waterside Place

Proposed	105A South Huntington Avenue 1271 Boylston Apartment Tower 1271 Boylston Hotel Tower 275 Albany Street 350 Boylston Street 371-401 D Street 40 Trinity Place 45 Stuart Street 776 Boylston Street East Building Albany Fellows, Building 1 Basilica Court I Bridgeview Lofts II Bridgeview Lofts Brigham and Women's Medical Office Building & Research Center Building K Buildings at Lovejoy Wharf Congress Street Redevelopment- West Parcel Building 1 Congress Street Redevelopment- West Parcel Building 2 Copley Place Tower Crane House and Pavillion Garden Garage Redevelopment Project - North Tower Garden Garage Redevelopment Project - South Tower Nashua Street Residences Offices at Channel Center One Bromfield One Greenway One Harbor Shore Drive One Joslin Place Oxford Ping On Affordable Housing Parcel 24 Roxbury Tenants of Harvard Residential Building South Bay Tower South Station Tower (on hold) TD Garden Towers The Merano Two Harbor Shore Drive World Trade Center South

Cancelled	101 Clarendon Street 110-120 Tremont Street 125 Tremont Street 319 A Street Rear Aquarium Development Commonwealth Center Fidelity Investments Headquarters Government Center Residence Hall & Student Center Government Service Center Harbor Point I Harbor Point II Mass Pike Towers II Trans National Place

Demolished	2000 Commonwealth Avenue First National Bank Building Hotel Madison North Station (original) Traveler's Insurance Building

See also	List of tallest buildings in Boston

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