The 790-foot John Hancock Tower, since its 1976 completion the tallest building in New England, is changing its name. Why? Because the financial services firm that built the 62-story glass shoot is no longer a tenant, according to landlord Boston Properties.
According to an announcement during a Thursday conference call with analysts, Doug Linde, Boston Properties' president, said the Henry Cobb-designed tower shall henceforth be known as 200 Clarendon after its street address. The lower-rise portion has been re-branded 120 St. James, too, in a bid to—what else?—lure tech tenants, the Globe's Tim Logan reports.
As for whether 200 Clarendon will stick or not, we doubt it. Just as people invariably say "Sears Tower" when they mean "Willis Tower" re: Chicago's tallest spire, we think "the Hancock" is as close to immortal as office real estate gets 'round here. Look at the tower's landlord, after all: "... Linde and other Boston Properties executives couldn't help themselves and continued to refer to the building as the Hancock Tower in their comments during the 90-minute call."
· Goodbye, Hancock Tower. Hello, 200 Clarendon [Curbed Boston]
· From Bauhaus to the State House: Boston's Best Starchitecture [Curbed Boston]
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