Monday, September 10, 2007

The Hancock


The John Hancock tower was completed in 1976. As of 2007, it is the tallest building in not only Boston, but also the whole of New England. The reflective window pains are tinted blue which means on a clear day, the tower almost blends into the sky. Well, that's how it is now at least! Due to a major design flaw the 500lb windows (measuring 4 ft x 11 ft) would detach from the building and crash to the sidewalk far below. As a result, surrounding streets were often shut down by police whenever winds reached 45 mph. The exact cause of the malfunction was never made public, but the windows were replaced in 1973 so there's no need to worry about walking the surrounding streets now!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

The John Hancock signature is well known too! :-)

• Eliane • said...

I love this building and all the reflections that goes with it. I found it a little difficult to capture in a picture and get those clouds and the smaller building reflections. I can look at it for hours.
Nice picture!

Seda said...

Wow, this looks cool. Just like my workplace. I had very similar picture in my blog.
Seda
Istanbul Photo

Unknown said...

Working in that tower was a little strange. I worked on the 18th floor. When I was in the bathroom, I could hear the building creaking.

In addition, I'm not sure there is a windier place in the city than out in front of that building. On a rainy day, the water will get blown off the street and into you. Umbrellas are useless.