Berkeley Building

Berkeley Building

General information
Type	Office
Location	200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates	42°20′59.78″N 71°04′21.55″W / 42.3499389°N 71.0726528°W / 42.3499389; -71.0726528Coordinates: 42°20′59.78″N 71°04′21.55″W / 42.3499389°N 71.0726528°W / 42.3499389; -71.0726528
Completed	1947
Height
Roof	495 ft (151 m)
Technical details
Floor count	26
Design and construction
Architect	Cram and Ferguson
Developer	Cram and Ferguson

The Berkeley Building (also known as the Old John Hancock Building) is a 26-story, 495-foot (151 m) building located at 200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It is the second of the three John Hancock buildings built in Boston; it was succeeded by the John Hancock Tower. The building is known for the weather beacon at its summit, which broadcasts light patterns as weather forecasts. The Berkeley Building is the 19th-tallest building in the city. It was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1985.

History

The building, located in Boston's Back Bay, was designed by Cram and Ferguson and completed in 1947. From 1947 until 1964 it was the second-tallest building in the city, one foot (30 cm) shorter than the 496-foot (151 m) Custom House Tower, but a much larger building and a conspicuous landmark. The Prudential Tower, completed in 1964, dwarfed both. As of 2004, 17 buildings are taller, yet it remains a handsome and easily recognized Boston landmark, familiar to commuters crossing the Charles River. A drawing of this building served as a logo for the John Hancock Insurance company for many years.

In March 2003, the John Hancock Insurance company sold the Berkeley Building, along with the Stephen L. Brown building and the John Hancock Tower, to Beacon Capital Partners. In December 2006, the Berkeley and Brown buildings were reacquired by John Hancock. As of 2004 the John Hancock company refers to it as "The Berkeley Building," but in common parlance it is "the Old John Hancock Building."

Design and features

Back Bay Events Center

It is also the home of the Back Bay Events Center: this two-part structure is the John Hancock Hall proper and the Dorothy Quincy Suite (a single room, capacity of approximately 900.) The Hall also contains a full box office and an 1100-seat auditorium. This is the annual site of the Massachusetts High School Drama Guild One-Act Festival's State Finals.

Weather beacon

It is topped by a weather beacon with red and blue lights, which use a code to present the local weather forecast,^[1]^[2] using a popular rhyme as a mnemonic:

Steady blue, clear view.

Flashing blue, clouds due.

Steady red, rain ahead.

Flashing red, snow instead.^[3]

During baseball season, flashing red means the Boston Red Sox game has been called off on account of weather.

The beacon was first lit on March 15, 1950 and was controlled using forecasts from a meteorological agency located on the 26th floor. It was kept lit until 1973 when it was shut off to set an example during an energy crisis which also temporarily shut off the famed Citgo sign in Kenmore Square. The beacon was re-lit in 1983 and has continued to display the weather forecast ever since.

In October 2004, the beacon flashed red and blue to commemorate the World Series victory of the Boston Red Sox. This was the first time the color scheme changed since the beacon was lit in 1950. A new line was added to the poem accordingly:

Flashing Blue and Red, when The Curse of the Bambino is dead!

The beacon again flashed red and blue when the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series, as well as when they won the 2013 World Series.

Gallery

Though dwarfed by other buildings, the "old John Hancock" remains a conspicuous and recognizable element of the Boston skyline

References

↑ "Berkeley Weather Beacon".
↑ Adrianna Borgia (January 2010). "Exhibit B : Landmark : The Berkeley Beacon". Boston Magazine.
↑ John Hancock Building Weather Light, WardMaps LLC.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 200 Berkeley Street.

City of Boston, Landmarks Commission. Berkeley Building, 1985

Skyscrapers in Boston

Current	100 Federal Street 100 Summer Street 111 Huntington Avenue 125 High Street 145 High Street 200 Clarendon (John Hancock Tower) 28 State Street 33 Arch Street 500 Boylston Street 60 State Street Ames Building Berkeley Building Boston City Hall Custom House Tower Exchange Place Federal Reserve Bank Building Harbor Towers I Harbor Towers II Keystone Building Landmark Center Liberty Hotel (Charles Street Jail) Liberty Mutual Tower Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary McCormack Building Millennium Place Tower I Millennium Place Tower II National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories Omni Parker House One Beacon Street One Boston Place One Devonshire Place One Federal Street One Financial Center One International Place One Lincoln Street One Post Office Square Prudential Tower Radian Boston Rowes Wharf Russia Wharf Saltonstall Building State Street Bank Building Two International Place United Shoe Machinery Corporation Building

Under construction	Millennium Tower Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, One Dalton Street Avalon North Station

Proposed	111 Federal Street South Bay Tower South Station Tower (on hold)

Cancelled	101 Clarendon Street Aquarium Development Government Service Center Trans National Place

Demolished	North Station (original)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.