Copley Square (Boston, Massachusetts)

 square, park

Copley Square is a square in every sense of the word Since 1994, the streets have been configured in a square shape with equilateral sides. Located in the Back Bay area of Boston, you’ll find both residents and visitors enjoying the greenery of the park located here as well as the magnificent buildings that surround the square.


Standing in the middle of Copley Square and turning from side to side will provide you with an eyeful of buildings in a variety of styles – from decidedly old to quite new.

Trinity Church, designed by Henery Hobson Richardson built between the years of 1872-1877. The style of church has come to be known as "Richardson Romanesque" and has served well to establish the architect’s fine reputation. Its clay roof, huge arches, and tall tower seem more reminiscent of Europe than 19th century America. It is continually lauded as one of the top ten buildings in America.

The wonderful Boston Public Library is located on another corner of Copley Square. Opened in 1895, it was the first publicly-supported municipal library in America. The façade is meant to resemble an Italian palazzo, specifically modeled after one in Rimini. This public facility houses the personal library of President John Adams.

The John Hancock Tower, designed by Chinese architect I.M. Pei, is currently the tallest building in New England, at 791 feet and 60 stories high. It is a modernist glass, monolith skyscraper and each bay of each floor is a single pane of glass. The dominant view when you are close to the building is of the nearby historical buildings reflected with subtle distortions of color and shape in the Hancock Tower's glass.