Harbor Towers
The Harbor Towers are two 40-story residential towers located on the waterfront of Boston, Massachusetts, in between the New England Aquarium and the Rowes Wharf mixed-use development. Harbor Towers I, the taller of the two towers, stands at, while Harbor Towers II rises. Harbor Towers I is tied for the 37th-tallest building in Boston. They were designed by Henry N. Cobb of I. M. Pei & Partners.
The towers were built in 1971 as part of a major revitalisation project of Boston's dilapidated waterfront area. The apartments, initially designed as affordable rental housing, were converted into condominiums in the 1980's.
History
Development and construction
The Harbor Towers apartment complex was completed in 1971. It is located near Boston's financial district and developed by the Berenson Corporation. The towers were designed by Henry N. Cobb, who also designed Boston's John Hancock Tower and collaborated with I.M Pei on Boston's City Hall Plaza. s of 2025, the Harbor Towers remain among the tallest residential buildings in Boston, though several newer developments, such as Millennium Tower and One Dalton Street, now exceed their height. The towers were planned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority to revitalize Boston's waterfront.Originally planned as three 40-story towers, only two were built alongside a parking garage.
Condominium conversion
As the growth of the city moved toward the waterfront, the development's location drew attention during the condominium conversion craze of the early 1980s. In 1981, both apartment towers started a two-year process of conversion to over 600 condominiums, with incentives for existing renters to purchase at discounted prices. Many early apartment renters now own several units, often combined to create wrap-around units with as much as of living space. As of 2025, units range from $700,000 to $3 million.Renovations
Over the decades, the towers have undergone major renovations, including complete window replacement in the 1990s following a 70-window fall incident caused by Hurricane Gloria in 1985. Due to their severe corrosion, the towers' HVAC pipes were replaced in 2010, and in 2014, the towers' lobby and hallways were renovated.In April 2025, a $20 million project was undertaken to bolster the towers' ground floor coastal defenses to protect the structure from sea level rise. The project was triggered by two nor'easters in 2018 which caused widespread flooding. It is expected to last for 12 months.
Architecture
The apartments are organized in a pinwheel fashion around a central core and are made of cast in place reinforced concrete. The concrete exterior balconies have a giant zipper-like appearance against the flat façade.The stainless steel sculpture at the base of the buildings is Untitled Landscape by David von Schlegell, created in 1964. The artwork is often mistaken for solar panels.