Copley Square

Copley Square is located in the Back Bay of Boston, an area which used to be completely covered in water has been in-filled with earth from around the city and now is one of the busiest areas in Boston. The square is bounded by Boylston Street on the north, Clarendon Street on the east, St. James Street on the south, and Dartmouth Street on the west. Our site was contained between the Hancock Tower (the tallest building in Boston) and the Trinity Church. The two act as a gate to the square from the financial district. As you gaze down St. James you can make out the BPL sticking out from behind the church, as well as the Prudential Tower and many other buildings that serve as a backdrop. All the buildings in the square were built at different times and this is quite apparent in all the different styles of architecture, the most recent being the Hancock Tower.


The Hancock Tower itself is a great piece of work. It is angled so that it is parallel with Huntington Ave. This is for a couple reasons, one being that with its slender shape it keeps from covering the whole square with its shadow, it also creates more square footage within the building. The whole building is covered with glass panels about 10 to 12 feet tall. These glass panels have the reflective quality of a mirror which allows the building to blend in more than stick out. You don't seem to notice the building as much when you are looking at the reflection of another in it. It's really something spectacular, because there are so many buildings surrounding it, there is never an instance where you don't see the reflection of one of them. This sketch shows the reflection of the Trinity Church on the Hancock Tower and the in the photo are a couple buildings from the financial district.