Boston City Hall, Municipal building in Government Center, United States
The nine-story concrete structure of Boston City Hall features horizontal levels with exposed concrete surfaces and a central entrance plaza at street level.
Architects Kallmann McKinnell & Wood completed this building in 1968, replacing the previous city hall that had served Boston since 1865.
The building functions as the primary location for city council meetings, mayoral offices, and administrative departments that manage Boston's municipal operations.
Boston City Hall opens Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, providing services such as permit applications and resident assistance programs.
The structure received recognition from the American Institute of Architects, which ranked it as the sixth greatest building in United States history.
Location: Boston
Inception: 1968
Architects: Kallmann, McKinnell and Knowles, Campbell, Aldrich & Nulty
Official opening: February 10, 1969
Architectural style: brutalist architecture
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Address: 1 City Hall Sq, Boston, MA 02201-1020 02201
Opening Hours: Monday-Friday 08:30-17:00
Phone: +16176354500
Email: mayor@boston.gov
Website: https://cityofboston.gov
GPS coordinates: 42.36030,-71.05800
Latest update: May 28, 2025 18:23
Brutalist architecture emerged in the decades following World War II, producing buildings that challenged conventional design through their honest expression of materials and function. From Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation in Marseille to Louis Kahn's National Assembly in Dhaka, these structures define a global movement that prioritized raw concrete, bold geometric forms and exposed construction elements. The style reached across continents, shaping university libraries in Chicago, government buildings in Boston and Chandigarh, residential towers in London, and cultural centers in São Paulo. Each building reflects the architectural philosophy of its time, when architects sought to create functional spaces through direct expression of structure and material. This collection documents examples from Europe, Asia, North and South America, representing the full range of building types that defined the movement. You'll find administrative complexes that house parliaments and municipal offices, educational facilities serving major universities, residential towers providing urban housing, and cultural institutions including museums and theaters. The structures share common characteristics—concrete left exposed to show its texture and formwork patterns, geometric compositions that emphasize mass and volume, and architectural elements that reveal rather than conceal how buildings stand and function. These sites offer insight into a period when architects reimagined how modern cities could be built and how public spaces could serve their communities.
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