| Skyline of Boston | |
|---|---|
Skyline of Boston'sBack Bay, with its three tallest buildings: TheJohn Hancock Tower (left),Prudential Tower (center), andOne Dalton (right) | |
| Tallest building | John Hancock Tower (1976) |
| Tallest building height | 790 ft (241 m) |
| First 150 m+ building | Custom House Tower (1915) |
| Number of tall buildings(2025) | |
| Taller than 100 m (328 ft) | 59 |
| Taller than 150 m (492 ft) | 26 |
| Taller than 200 m (656 ft) | 6 |
| Number of tall buildings (feet) | |
| Taller than 300 ft (91.4 m) | 73 |


Boston is the capital of theU.S. state ofMassachusetts and the largest city inNew England. It is home to over 580 completed high-rises,[1] 73 of which stand taller than 300 feet (91 m) as of 2025. Boston's skyline is by far the largest inNew England, and the city has the second most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in theNortheastern United States, afterNew York City. The tallest building in Boston is the 62-story 200 Clarendon, better known as theJohn Hancock Tower; the office skyscraper rises 790 ft (241 m) in theBack Bay district, southwest ofDowntown Boston.
The history of skyscrapers in Boston began early with the completion of the 13-storyAmes Building in 1893. TheGreek Revival styleCustom House Tower, which was Boston's tallest building from 1915 to 1964, was among the first skyscrapers outside of New York City. Boston went through a major building boom from the 1960s to the early 1990s, resulting in the construction of over 30 buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m), including the John Hancock Tower and the city's second-tallest building, thePrudential Tower. At the time of the Prudential Tower's completion in 1964, it stood as the tallest building in North America outside ofNew York City.[2]
After a hiatus in the 1990s, high-rise development resumed in the 2000s, with a higher share residential or mixed-use buildings. Since 2016, several major projects have significantly altered the city's skyline, including four skyscrapers taller than 600 ft (183 m):Millennium Tower in 2016,One Dalton in 2020, and bothWinthrop Center andOne Congress in 2023. A fifth,South Station Tower, is under construction atop Boston's historicSouth Station, and is expected to be complete by 2025. Around the same period, theWest End neighborhood has seen an influx in high-rises, such asThe Hub on Causeway. The regeneration of theSeaport District since the 2000s has added many new high-rises to the former industrial area, although none of them surpass 300 ft in height.
Although Boston's skyscrapers are concentrated in theFinancial District indowntown, its three tallest buildings—John Hancock Tower, Prudential Tower, and One Dalton—are located in Back Bay. Boston's skyline is shaped by the roughly 2.5 mile unofficialHigh Spine urban corridor,[3] bypassing surrounding low-rise residential areas likeBeacon Hill and theNorth End. In addition to the Seaport District southeast of downtown, the skyline has stretched westwards towardsFenway–Kenmore beginning in the 2010s. In the wider metropolitan area, there is an ongoing high-rise boom in neighboringCambridge, as well as inSomerville to a lesser extent. Regulations on building shadows and the proximity ofLogan International Airport to downtown have limited the height of skyscrapers in downtown Boston to below 800 ft (244 m).[4]

The map below shows the location of buildings taller than 300 feet (91.4 m) in Boston. Each marker is colored by the decade of the building's completion.

Boston skyscrapers that stand at least 300 feet (91 m) tall, based on standard height measurements, including spires and other architectural details, but not including antenna masts, are listed below. The "Year" column indicates the year when a building was completed. Buildings tied in height are sorted by year of completion, and then alphabetically.
Boston skyscrapers based on their pinnacle height, which includes radio masts and antennas, are listed below. Standard architectural height measurement, which excludes antennas in building height, is included for comparative purposes.[110]
| Rank | Name | Pinnacle height ft (m) | Standard height ft (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prudential Tower | 907 (276) | 749 (228) |
| 2 | 200 Clarendon Street | 852 (260) | 790 (241) |
| 3 | One Dalton Street | 742 (226) | 742 (226) |
| 4 | Millennium Tower | 698 (213) | 685 (209) |
| 5 | Winthrop Center | 691 (211) | 691 (211) |
| 6 | One Financial Center | 683 (208) | 590 (180) |
| 7 | One Beacon Street | 623 (190) | 505 (154) |
| 8 | Federal Reserve Bank Building | 614 (187) | 614 (187) |
| 9 | One Boston Place | 601 (183) | 601 (183) |
| 10 | One International Place | 600 (183) | 600 (183) |
| Neighborhood | Building | Height | Floors | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back Bay | 200 Clarendon | 790 (241) | 60 | 1976 | [111] |
| Downtown Crossing | Millennium Tower | 685 (209) | 60 | 2016 | [112] |
| Financial District | Federal Reserve Bank Building | 614 (187) | 32 | 1976 | [113] |
| Chinatown | One Lincoln Street | 503 (153) | 36 | 2003 | [114] |
| Government Center | 28 State Street | 500 (152) | 40 | 1970 | [115] |
| Theatre District | The Ritz-Carlton Boston Common | 475 (145) | 38 | 2001 | [116] |
| West End | The Hub on Causeway | 496 (151) | 45 | 2021 | [117] |
| Waterfront | Harbor Towers I | 400 (122) | 40 | 1971 | [118] |
| Fenway–Kenmore | Pierce Boston | 378 (115) | 30 | 2018 | [83] |
| Beacon Hill | McCormack Building | 29.0322 (98) | 22 | 1975 | [119] |
| Greater Boston | |
|---|---|
| Population | 5,025,517 (2024 estimate) |
| Cities included | Boston,Cambridge,Everett |
| Number of tall buildings | |
| Taller than 100 m (328 ft) | 61 (2025) |
| Taller than 150 m (492 ft) | 26 (2025) |
| Taller than 200 m (656 ft) | 6 |
| Number of tall buildings (feet) | |
| Taller than 300 ft (91.4 m) | 75 (2025) |
There are two buildings inGreater Boston taller than 300 ft (91 m) that are located outside of Boston itself.
| Rank | Name | Image | City | Height | Floors | Year | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Encore Boston Harbor | Everett 42°23′42″N71°04′10″W / 42.39512°N 71.06936°W /42.39512; -71.06936 (Encore Boston Harbor) | 372 (113.4) | 26 | 2019 | Hotel | Tallest building in Everett. Tallest building in Greater Boston outside of Boston. Hotel and casino building. | |
| 2 | Graduate Tower at Site 4 | Cambridge 42°21′43″N71°05′08″W / 42.36197°N 71.08551°W /42.36197; -71.08551 (Graduate Tower at Site 4) | 335 (102) | 29 | 2021 | Mixed-use | Tallest building in Cambridge. Also known as Site 4 at Kendall Square, 290 Main Street, or MIT Site 4. Mixed-use residential, educational, and office building.[120] |
The table ranks high-rises under construction in Boston that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. Buildings that are on hold are not included. Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information about the building is unknown or has not yet been released.
| Name | Height | Floors | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lyra | 400 (122) | 34 | — | Located on 252-268 Huntington Avenue[121] |
| Fenway Center | 337 (103) | 22 | 2024 | [122] |
| CSP - 4B Tower | 302 (92) | 12 | 2027 | [123] |
The table ranks proposed high-rises in Boston that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall., based on standard height measurement. Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information about the building is unknown or has not yet been released.
| Name | Height ft (m) | Floors | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle at Central Wharf | 600 (183) | 42 | Proposed | 600' height variance approved by theBoston Planning and Development Agency on March 2, 2017.[124][125] Placed on indefinite hold in 2022.[126] |
| North Station Gateway | 447 (136) | 40 | Proposed | [127][128][129] |
| Back Bay Station Residences | 413 (126) | 34 | Approved | [130] |
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 generally considered theAmes Building, completed in 1893.[131] However, since the 13-story building did not surpass the steeple of theChurch of the Covenant,[132] it never became a city record holder. The first skyscraper to have the distinction of being Boston's tallest building was theCustom House Tower, completed in 1915.[44]
Mayor Michelle Wu is pumping the brakes on a long-debated plan that would allow a skyscraper on the edge of Boston Harbor