During my June trip of Boston I took some photos of City Hall of Boston, Massachusetts. The building is the seat of the mayor of Boston and the Boston City Council. It was constructed between 1963-1968. The interesting thing about the building: it has been called ugly, eyesore or hideous. It has won numerous awards, polls and top lists for the “Ugliest Building in the World” or “World’s Ugliest Building”.

My photos of the building are among other Boston stock photos in my portfolio.

City Hall of Boston

The City Hall of Boston located in aptly named City Hall Plaza was designed by Gerhard Kallmann, a Columbia University professor, and Michael McKinnell, a Columbia graduate student at the time. Their design was selected from 256 designs submitted to a competition. Brutalist architecture was a big thing in 1950s and 1960s, especially in the United Kingdom. But American cities have received their fair share of brutalism, with notable examples of Habitat 67 in Toronto and Regenstein Library of the University of Chicago, one of the largest libraries in the world.

Controversial brutalist building of City Hall in Boston

Boston City Hall was completed in 1968, and opened in 1969. The public opinion was divided from the very beginning. There was hate for the ugly brutalist structure, especially among the public. Architects and urbanists have admired Boston City Hall, calling it excellent architectural work.

You can use my photo featured in this post in your projects without watermark. It is available in my collection in Pond 5: Boston city hall, priced $5.