Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
On one hand Boston's is probably more sleek/elegant. It is also relatively stand-alone. It's the tallest building in the city, and it is perhaps one of only two good-looking skyscrapers in Boston, so it looks good in comparison to the bland or small buildings around it. If it wasn't the first, then it must've been one of the first World Trade Center/Comcast Center-esq covered-in-glass towers, and it's been the tallest in the city since it was built in 1976. I think it was designed by the same man who designed the US Bank Tower in LA, and the same firm that did the glass pyramid in Paris. On the other hand it's pretty boxy, flat, boring, etc.
In the other corner is the Chicago John Hancock. It's taller and much more massive than the Boston one. It is black, with two large spires, and therefore I think it's much more imposing that the Boston JHT. It's the older of the two buildings, built in 1969. It was designed by the same person that designed the Sears Tower (or Willis Tower, or whatever it is). According to Wikipedia, it was the tallest building outside of New York in 1968.
On the exterior, the one in Boston is fairly sleek and I like it maybe a little more than the one here in Chicago. However, the cocktail lounge/restaurant on the 95th and 96th floors in Chicago have some absolutely spectacular views. Much better views than the Sears Tower as well. You'll be hard pressed to find a restaurant/lounge within a skyscraper with a better view than that in the US.
Boston's seems nicer, but Chicago's is just so.... Chicago... like it screams Chicago to me. Everything I love about it - the polished urban grit, the dark hues, the straight lines. It's so orderly and so elegant and there's just so much personality there. There's no other city that building could be in. Even more than the Sears Tower, the Hancock building is Chicago for me.
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
2,709 posts, read 5,060,821 times
Reputation: 1028
Chicago any day of the week. The Hancock Tower in Chicago is original and unique looking, plus it has almost 400 feet on the one in Boston.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.