One of Boston's largest corporations, John Hancock Insurance, had outgrew its offices by the 1940s. It had formerly occupied 197 Clarendon Street, which was constructed in 1922. They therefore commissioned the Old John Hancock Building to be constructed right next to the old corporate headquarters. Ultimately, John Hancock Insurance outgrew the Old Hancock Building and constructed the Hancock Tower, which was completed in 1976, next to its other two buildings. John Hancock Insurance has recently reaquired the Old John Hancock Building. The Old John Hancock Building represents the revitalization in Boston's architectural campaigns, which had waned beginning in the turn of the century.

The Old Hancock Building is currently used as commercial office space. Together with 197 Clarendon Street the building has a 95% occupancy rate. The 1100 seat auditorium in the building also hosts events regularly.

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The Old John Hancock Building was constructed by Cram and Ferguson in Boston just after World War II. Although it could not compete with the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings as an Art Deco building in their monumental scale, its construction was crucial to Boston. It was Boston's second tallest building upon its completion. The Hancock Building is endowed with a heaviness that makes it a vital addition to Boston's skyline. It is still well-regarded today by Bostonians, who constantly look at the building to see the next day's weather forecast which is predicted through the lights in the tower's spire.

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The Old Hancock Building was built next to Richardson's masterful Trinity Church in Copley Square. It also stands nearby McKim, Mead, and White's Boston Public Library. The Old Hancock Building is attached in its lobby to the older Hancock building at 197 Clarendon Street. This smaller structure was constructed by Parker, Thomas, and Rice in 1922.

The Old Hancock Building is a steel framed, masonry clad structure reaching 26 stories and 495 feet high. This 747,000 square foot building consists of a tiered structure with a stepped roof and a spire equipped with blue and red neon lights.

The Old Hancock Building is loved by Bostonians, who rely on it for quick and easy weather predictions. The lights in the spire are blue when the skies will be clear, flashing blue when it will be cloudy, red when it is going to rain, and flashing red when it is going to snow. This weather forecast function began in 1950.

The Old Hancock Building has a sense of solidity and gravity to it that the Custom House Tower, Boston's tallest building at the time of construction, does not possess. It was constructed in the Art Deco style with tiers and a shallow stepped pyramid on top. The shallowness of the pyramid helps emphasize the heaviness of the building. This heaviness to the building also helped inform I.M. Pei's design for the Hancock Tower. He constructed a foil to the Old Hancock Building. Even though the new Hancock Building dwarfs the old in height, the new Hancock's slender shape and reflective all glass skin give it a sense of lightness.

The construction of the Old Hancock Building in Boston was a major move for the city. Prior to this building, there were no tall buildings in the Back Bay. The Back Bay was one of Boston's most affluent neighborhoods with its beautiful row houses and tree-lined avenues. The Hancock Building set precedent for tall commercial building construction in the Back Bay, which was later followed by the 749 foot Prudential Tower in 1964 and I.M. Pei's 790 foot John Hancock Tower in 1976. Boston had lost economic prominence by the turn of the century. The Custom House Tower, built in what is now the Financial District, was the last tall building constructed in Boston before the Hancock Building. This tower was built in 1915 and was a very slender building. The Hancock Building helped to reassert Boston's role in the American economy. As a complex with the 1922 197 Clarendon Building and the 1976 Hancock Tower, the Hancock Buildings chart the rise of one of Boston's most important corporations.

A late example of Art Deco architecture, the Old John Hancock Building served a crucial role in the history of Boston. After decades without significant building projects, the construction of the Hancock Building instilled hope in the still struggling city. It helped set precedent for new larger commercial building campaigns in the city of Boston.

\"John Hancock Building Job Goes to New York Company