Tower Building

Art by: Chris Hytha

Story by: Mark Houser

The wedding cake shape of this and other Deco-era American highrises was due to zoning rules requiring floors above a certain height to step back, letting more sunlight down to the street. Such limits clearly could not quash this building’s exuberance, with its terracotta floral panels stretching to the roofline.

Nearer to the sidewalk, stylized bronze bas-reliefs display acts of labor and technological prowess by burly men who are mostly shirtless and occasionally pants-less. Mythical heroic figures join the cast over the main entrance on Franklin Street. A well-preserved honey and ebony marble lobby shows off additional craftsmanship and metalwork.

The highrise was financed by a consortium led by Louis Abrons, a New York builder whose family immigrated from present-day Belarus when he was a boy. One lead investor was stockbroker Charles Hayden, who made a fortune in copper mining, then built public planetariums in Boston and New York that still bear his name.

Originally called the Tower Building, this was more commonly referred to by its ground floor tenants Second National Bank and later State Street Trust. In 1985 the building became part of 75-101 Federal Street when it was fused to a taller office tower erected next door after Boston finally relaxed its height limits.