View source for Berkeley Building

{{More citations needed|article|date=April 2009}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox building
|name               = Berkeley Building
|image              = John Hancock Tower, 200 Berkeley.jpg
|image_size         = 200px
|location           = 200 Berkeley Street<br>[[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|coordinates        = {{coord|42|20|59.78|N|71|04|21.55|W|region:US-MA_scale:2000|display=inline,title}}
|roof               = {{convert|495|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|floor_count        = 26
|completion_date    = 1947
|building_type      = Office
|architect          = [[Ralph Adams Cram|Cram and Ferguson]]
|developer          = [[Ralph Adams Cram|Cram and Ferguson]]
}}

The '''Berkeley Building''' (also known as the '''Old John Hancock Building''') is a 26-story, {{convert|495|foot|m|adj=on}}  building located at 200 Berkeley Street, [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], USA.  It is the second of the three John Hancock buildings built in Boston; it was succeeded by the [[John Hancock Tower]]. The building is known for the [[weather beacon]] at its summit, which displays distinctive light patterns as weather forecasts. The Berkeley Building is the [[List of tallest buildings in Boston|25th-tallest building in the city]].

==History==

The building, located in Boston's [[Back Bay]], was designed by Boston's [[Ralph Adams Cram|Cram and Ferguson]] and completed in 1947. The contractor was the city's Turner Construction, the building sheathed in Berea Sandstone from northeast Ohio.<ref>"The Cleveland Quarries Company" (advertisement), Ohio Architect 1:4 (August 1948), 14.</ref> From 1947 until 1964 it was the second-tallest building in the city, one foot (30&nbsp;cm) shorter than the {{convert|496|foot|m|adj=on}} [[Custom House Tower]], but a much larger building and a conspicuous landmark. The [[Prudential Tower]], completed in 1964, dwarfed both. {{As of|2004}}, 17 buildings are taller, yet it remains an easily recognized Boston landmark, familiar to commuters crossing the [[Charles River]]. A drawing of this building served as a logo for the [[John Hancock Insurance]] company for many years.

In March 2003, the John Hancock Insurance company sold the Berkeley Building, along with the Stephen L. Brown building and the [[John Hancock Tower]], to [[Beacon Capital Partners]].  In December 2006, the Berkeley and Brown buildings were reacquired by John Hancock. {{As of|2004}} the John Hancock company refers to it as "The Berkeley Building," but in common parlance it is "the Old John Hancock Building."

==Design and features==

===Observation Floor===
In addition to regular offices, the top 26th floor also accommodated two observation areas looking out over the Boston skyline.  Access was free to the public and a Reception and Information Desk was staffed during normal business hours.

===Back Bay Events Center===
It is also the home of the Back Bay Events Center: this two-part structure is the John Hancock Hall proper and the Dorothy Quincy Suite (a single room, capacity of approximately 900.) The Hall also contains a full [[box office]] and an 1100-seat [[auditorium]]. This is the annual site of the [[Massachusetts High School Drama Guild|Massachusetts High School Drama Guild One-Act Festival]]'s State Finals.

===Weather beacon===
It is topped by a [[weather beacon]] with red and blue lights, which use a code to present the local weather forecast,<ref name="Beacon">{{cite web|title=Berkeley Weather Beacon|url=http://www.celebrateboston.com/strange/weather-beacon.htm}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
| url = http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/landmark_the_berkeley_beacon/
| title = Exhibit B : Landmark : The Berkeley Beacon
| work = [[Boston Magazine]]
| author = Adrianna Borgia
| date = January 2010
| url-status = dead
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120229045155/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/landmark_the_berkeley_beacon/
| archivedate = 2012-02-29
}}</ref> using a popular rhyme as a [[mnemonic]]:

:::''Steady blue, clear view.''
:::''Flashing blue, clouds due.''
:::''Steady red, rain ahead.''
:::''Flashing red, snow instead.''<ref>[https://wardmapsgifts.com/products/john-hancock-building-weather-lights-boston-massachusetts John Hancock Building Weather Light], WardMaps LLC.</ref>

During [[baseball]] season, flashing red means the [[Boston Red Sox]] game has been called off on account of weather.

The beacon was first lit on March 15, 1950 and was controlled using forecasts from a [[meteorological]] agency located on the 26th floor.  It was kept lit until 1973 when it was shut off to set an example during an [[1973 oil crisis|energy crisis]] which also temporarily shut off the famed [[Boston Citgo sign|Citgo sign]] in [[Kenmore Square]].  The beacon was re-lit in 1983 and has continued to display the weather forecast ever since.

In October 2004, the beacon flashed red and blue to commemorate the [[2004 World Series|World Series]] victory of the [[Boston Red Sox]]. This was the first time the color scheme changed since the beacon was lit in 1950. A new line was added to the poem accordingly:

:::''Flashing Blue and Red, The [[Curse of the Bambino]] is dead!''

The beacon again flashed red and blue when the Red Sox won the [[2007 World Series]], as well as when they won the [[2013 World Series]]. However, it did not flash red and blue the night they clinched the [[2018 World Series]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

==Gallery==
{{wide image|5872-boston-skyline-legend.jpg|800px|Though dwarfed by other buildings, the "old John Hancock" remains a conspicuous and recognizable element of the Boston skyline}}

==See also==

* [[List of tallest buildings in Boston]]
* [[HDB/Cram and Ferguson]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|200 Berkeley Street}}
* [https://www.manulifeim.com/realestate/en/properties/200-berkeley-street-boston Homepage]

{{Beacon Capital Partners}}
{{Boston skyscrapers}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Boston]]
[[Category:Back Bay, Boston]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 1947]]
[[Category:Ralph Adams Cram buildings]]
[[Category:1940s architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:Art Deco architecture in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1947 establishments in Massachusetts]]