Federal Reserve Plaza




About Federal Reserve Plaza

Federal Reserve Plaza was named The Office Building of the Year in 2009 by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Boston, and has been LEED-EB Gold certified by the US Green Building Council (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, for Existing Buildings). Our property management team is committed to energy efficient systems and processes, and continually seeks ways to increase our sustainability.

Home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and prestigious tenant firms, the building is the fourth to house the Fed in Boston.

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 established the nation’s central bank, comprising the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington D.C. and 12 independent but interrelated Reserve Banks across the country. The Boston Fed serves the First Federal Reserve District, which includes Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut (excluding Fairfield County).

The Boston Fed opened for business in November 1914, in temporary quarters at the corner of Milk and Pearl Streets, with a staff of 3 officers and 14 clerks. More permanent quarters were secured in January 1915, at 53 State Street. The Fed outgrew that space and in 1919, purchased a new site at 95 Milk Street. The Renaissance building opened there in 1922, home to the Fed for the next 55 years, was declared a Boston Landmark in the 1980's and is now the Langham Hotel.

In 1977, the Boston Fed moved once more, to its current site at 600 Atlantic Avenue. The 604-foot, 33-story office tower linked to a 4-story wing was erected between December 1972 and November 1974. The architects, Hugh Stubbins & Associates, designed the tower office floors to rise from a 140-foot bridge suspended in the air between two end cores. A 600-ton steel truss marks the beginning of the "office in the air." The exterior is natural anodized aluminum. The aluminum spandrels, which create the “washboard” effect, shade the building interior from the high summer sun. As a model of striking contemporary - and energy efficient - design, Federal Reserve Plaza was ahead of its time, and remains a shining anchor in the city of Boston.