John F. Kennedy Federal Building

John F. Kennedy Federal Building
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
	The John F. Kennedy Federal Building (2006)
General information
Architectural style	Sixties Modern
Address	15 Sudbury Street, Government Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Coordinates	42°21′41″N 71°03′34″W / 42.36144°N 71.05936°W
Named for	John F. Kennedy
Year(s) built	1963-1966
Opened	1966; 58 years ago
Height	387 feet (118 m)
Technical details
Material	Steel, reinforced concrete, glass
Floor count	26 floors each; 4 floor corridor
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Walter Gropius, The Architects Collaborative, Samuel Glaser
Structural engineer	LeMessurier Consultants
	John F. Kennedy Federal Building
NRHP reference No.	SG100007130
Added to NRHP	November 15, 2021

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Federal Building is a United States federal government office building located in the Government Center area of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to City Hall Plaza and diagonally across from Boston City Hall. An example of 1960s modern architecture, and designed by Walter Gropius and The Architects Collaborative with Samuel Glaser, it is a complex that consists of two offset 26-floor towers that sit on-axis to each other and a low rise building of four floors that connects to the two towers through an enclosed glass corridor.^[1] The two towers stand at a height of 387 feet (118 m).^[2] The complex was built in 1963-1966.^[1] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.^[3]

Significant events

1937: Walter Gropius immigrates to the United States and exposes Modern architecture
1945: Gropius founds The Architects Collaborative
1961: Gropius, TAC, and Glaser retained to design federal building in Boston
1963: Construction begins; building is named to honor President Kennedy after he is assassinated
1966: Construction completed and building occupied

Building facts

Location: 15 Sudbury Street
Architects: Walter Gropius and The Architects Collaborative with Samuel Glaser
Structural engineers: LeMessurier Consultants
Construction dates: 1963-1966
Architectural style: Sixties Modern
Primary materials: Steel, reinforced concrete, and glass
Prominent features: Monolithic towers; landscaped plaza; public art

Architecture

The building is bounded by Cambridge, Sudbury, and Congress streets. The building consists of twin 26-story high-rise towers, which sit on axis to each other, and a low, 4-story building. This combination of tall towers paired with low buildings is a common Modern form that is used extensively throughout the United States and abroad. The double towers increase the number of offices lit by natural light and decrease the visual bulk that a single monolithic building would create. The building contains 839,000 square feet (77,900 m²).

The exterior of the towers is constructed of pre-cast reinforced concrete. The lower sections are faced with polished granite. All aluminum work has a dark anodized finish in a medium gray tone. A glass-enclosed walkway connects the four-story building to the towers. Like the towers, the low building's facade is made of concrete and glass. Overall, the exterior lacks ornamentation, instead displaying a stark functionality. Bands of windows wrap around the towers; corner windows have rounded edges. The bases of the towers have arcades with entrances set back beneath a covered area supported by piers. The tops of the towers are distinguished by metal louvers. An exposed glass atrium connects the two towers at the ground level. A glass-enclosed walkway connects the four-story building to the towers. Like the towers, the low building's facade is made of concrete and glass. Vertical slabs form piers that interrupt the horizontality of the building and create the off-center entrance, which is articulated by a cantilevered porch. A protruding second story creates a covered pathway to shelter visitors.

The building's design result in 45% 4.6-acre (19,000 m²)of the available space being occupied by the structure. The remaining portion contains terraces, plazas, landscaping, a sunken patio, and driveways. Plazas are surfaced with stone in most sections. Paved walkways are interspersed throughout. A tiered stair platform of cement and brick leads to the low building.

In 1963, Gropius and Glaser saw sculpture by artist Dimitri Hadzi, who worked in Modern abstract forms, and decided Hadzi's style would be appropriate for the federal building. They commissioned Hadzi to produce a bronze sculpture called Thermopylae, which is located in front of one of the towers. The abstract sculpture was created in 1966 and inspired by President Kennedy's book, Profiles in Courage, and his war record. Two other artists created tributes to John F. Kennedy. Herbert Ferber designed an abstract sculpture of welded copper and stainless steel titled Full Circle: Profile in Courage, which is in the interior light court. New England Elegy, a controversial mural by Robert Motherwell,^[4] occupies the area between the towers and the low-rise building. Revolving exhibits in the building often focus on aspects of Kennedy's life and presidency.

Selected tenants

As of 2010, the Kennedy building housed offices for:

Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts^[5]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services^[6]
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services^[7]
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs^[8]
U.S. Immigration Court^[9]
U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Taxpayer Service Division
U.S. Social Security Administration^[10]
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
U.S. Federal Protective Service

Gallery

Architectural rendering
(c.1963)
The connector between the low-rise building and the towers
Lobby
Interior
Interior staircase
Courtyard
Plaza view

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b "John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Boston, MA". Gsa.gov. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
^ "John F. Kennedy Federal Building | Buildings". Boston /: Emporis. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "Weekly listing". National Park Service.
^ Library of Congress record of New England Elegy.
^ [1] Archived January 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
^ "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - Office Locator : Office Detail". Egov.uscis.gov. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
^ "HHS/OS Organizational Directory (OPHS/RHA/Region I - Boston) - Browse". Directory.psc.gov. 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
^ "Directions - Locations". Va.gov. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
^ [2] Archived November 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ [3] Archived May 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

Sources

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the General Services Administration.

External links

General Services Administration (GSA) entry

[GSA-1] "John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Boston, MA". Gsa.gov. Retrieved 2018-08-24.

[2] "John F. Kennedy Federal Building | Buildings". Boston /: Emporis. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[3] "Weekly listing". National Park Service.

[4] Library of Congress record of New England Elegy.

[5] [1] Archived January 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

[6] "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - Office Locator : Office Detail". Egov.uscis.gov. Retrieved 2013-11-01.

[7] "HHS/OS Organizational Directory (OPHS/RHA/Region I - Boston) - Browse". Directory.psc.gov. 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2013-11-01.

[8] "Directions - Locations". Va.gov. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2013-11-01.

[9] [2] Archived November 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

[10] [3] Archived May 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

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v t e Walter Gropius
Buildings and structures	Fagus Factory (1911–1913) (with Adolf Meyer) Bauhaus Dessau (1925–1926) Kurt Weill Centre (1925–1926) Monument to the March Dead (1922, destroyed, 1936; reconstructed, 1947) (with Fred Forbát) 66 Old Church Street, Chelsea (1935–1936) (with Maxwell Fry) Gropius House (1938) Josephine M. Hagerty House (1938) Impington Village College (1938–1939) (with Maxwell Fry) Waldenmark (with Marcel Breuer) The Alan I W Frank House (1939–1940) (with Marcel Breuer) Aluminum City Terrace (completion, 1942) (with Marcel Breuer) Walter-Gropius-Haus (Berlin) (1957) (with The Architects Collaborative and Wils Ebert) Michael Reese Hospital (original plan for 8 buildings, 1946–1959; demolished 2009-2013) University of Baghdad (1957–1960) Gropiusstadt (buildings complex, completion, 1960) Embassy of the United States, Athens (1960–1961) MetLife Building (1959–1963) (with Richard Roth and Pietro Belluschi) John F. Kennedy Federal Building (1963–1966) (with The Architects Collaborative and Samuel Glaser) Tower East (completion, 1969) Huntington Museum of Art (enlargement project, 1968–1970, with The Architects Collaborative) Porto Carras (original project, 1973–1980)
Other buildings (supporting work)	Großsiedlung Siemensstadt (1929–1931) (co-authorship with six architects) Peter Thacher Junior High School (main authorship by The Architects Collaborative) Wayland High School (1959–1960) (main authorship by Herbert Gallagher and John "Chip" Harkness) Temple Oheb Shalom (completion, 1960) (consulting architect to Sheldon I. Leavitt)
Related	Bauhaus Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau The Back Bay Center (unrealised project, 1953) International Style Werkbund Exhibition (1914) The Architects Collaborative (co-founder) Bride of the Wind (2001 film)
Family and relationships	Martin Gropius (uncle) Alma Mahler (first wife) Manon Gropius (daughter) Ati Gropius Johansen (stepdaughter) Adolf Meyer (collaborator) Maxwell Fry (collaborator) Marcel Breuer (collaborator)