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| 100 Federal Street | |
|---|---|
| Name | 100 Federal Street |
| Alternate names | Highfield House, United Shoe Machinery Building |
| Status | Completed |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Start date | 1929 |
| Completion date | 1931 |
| Building type | Office |
| Roof | 591 ft (180 m) |
| Floor count | 37 |
| Architect | George W. Fuller |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Owner | Boston Properties (current) |
100 Federal Street 100 Federal Street is a 37-story skyscraper located in Government Center, Boston's Financial District, Massachusetts, United States. Completed in 1931 as the United Shoe Machinery Building and later known as Highfield House, the tower has been associated with major industrial firms, financial institutions, and landmark urban redevelopment projects. Its history intersects with Great Depression, World War II, postwar economic expansion, and late 20th-century real estate consolidation.
The tower was commissioned by the United Shoe Machinery Corporation during the late 1920s, a period marked by rapid growth for firms such as General Electric, Standard Oil, U.S. Steel, and contemporaries in the industrial revolution era. Groundbreaking in 1929 coincided with the onset of the Great Depression, yet construction proceeded under architects associated with projects for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and clients like Tishman Realty. Opening in 1931, the building served as headquarters for United Shoe Machinery, paralleling corporate moves by International Harvester and Bethlehem Steel into landmark towers. During World War II, tenant lists included firms tied to wartime production similar to Westinghouse Electric Corporation and General Dynamics. Postwar decades saw transitions mirroring patterns at Seagram Building and Lever House, with leases to financial institutions such as regional branches of Bank of America and State Street Corporation. Late 20th-century urban renewal and the redevelopment of Government Center, Boston influenced its ownership, culminating in acquisition by major real estate firms comparable to Boston Properties and transactions resembling those for One Financial Center.
Designed in an Art Deco idiom, the structure reflects aesthetic currents parallel to Chrysler Building and Empire State Building in emphasis on verticality and stepped massing. The exterior employs granite and limestone cladding like contemporaneous projects such as Rockefeller Center and features setbacks informed by zoning precedents similar to 1916 Zoning Resolution-era towers. Interior public spaces originally included a two-story banking hall and office lobbies with ornamentation referencing motifs found at Bullock's and Ralph Walker's works. Mechanical systems were state-of-the-art for firms akin to Otis Elevator Company and Carrier Corporation, and later modernization efforts paralleled renovations at Prudential Tower and John Hancock Tower (Boston), including lobby restoration and curtain-wall upgrades. The building's massing and skyline presence contribute to sightlines associated with the Boston Common and align with city planning initiatives led by figures such as Edward H. Bennett and organizations like the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Originally housing corporate headquarters for United Shoe Machinery Corporation, the tower later accommodated diverse tenants: law firms comparable to Goodwin Procter and Ropes & Gray, financial services similar to Goldman Sachs, regional banks akin to Fidelity Investments, technology firms in the mold of Akami Technologies and Raytheon Technologies contractors, and government-related offices resembling those of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and US Postal Service regional units. The building has also hosted professional services such as accounting firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and consultancies similar to McKinsey & Company. Ground-floor retail and lobby-level restaurants mirror patterns seen at Faneuil Hall Marketplace and office-tower retail in Seaport District, Boston.
Ownership history parallels consolidation trends represented by companies like Boston Properties, Tishman Speyer, and Hines Interests Limited Partnership, with institutional investors including pension funds such as Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board and real estate investment trusts similar to Equity Office Properties. Management and leasing strategies have employed practices common to firms such as Jones Lang LaSalle and CBRE Group, focusing on tenant retention, capital improvements, and sustainability upgrades akin to LEED retrofits undertaken at One Beacon Street.
As a prominent element of Boston's skyline, the tower has appeared in photographic surveys and guidebooks alongside landmarks such as Faneuil Hall, Trinity Church (Copley Square), and Old State House. Architectural critics have compared its massing and detailing to Art Deco exemplars like 30 Rockefeller Plaza and 30 St Mary Axe in discussions of American interwar commercial architecture. The building figures in local narratives about industrial consolidation, urban renewal, and the evolution of Financial District, Boston as a hub for legal, financial, and technological services, comparable in civic role to One Lincoln Street and 60 State Street.
Category:Skyscrapers in Boston Category:Art Deco architecture in Massachusetts