The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, The Pru, is an International Style skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind 200 Clarendon Street, formerly the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was designed by Charles Luckman and Associates for Prudential Insurance. Completed in 1964, the building is tall, with 52 floors, and (as of January 2021) is tied with others as the 114th-tallest in the United States. It contains of commercial and retail space. Including its radio mast, the tower stands as the tallest building in Boston, rising to in height. A 50th-floor observation deck has been the highest such location in New England open to the public, as the higher observation deck of the John Hancock Tower (now 200 Clarendon Street) has been closed since the September 11 attacks in 2001. Scheduled to close permanently on April 18, 2020, the Prudential's "Skywalk" was closed until further notice in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. History The Prudential Tower began construction in 1960 with steel erection work by Donovan Steel. Upon its completion in 1964, the Prudential was the tenth tallest building in the world and the tallest building in North America outside of New York City, surpassing the Terminal Tower in Cleveland, Ohio. It also ended the Custom House Tower's 59-year reign as the tallest building in Boston, and passed Hartford's Travelers Tower as the tallest building in New England. The newly built Prudential Tower dwarfed John Hancock Financial's headquarters building, built in 1947. This spurred the insurance rival to build the 1975 John Hancock Tower, which is slightly taller at . Today, the Prudential is no longer among the fifty tallest buildings in the U.S. in architectural height. Within Boston, in addition to the nearby John Hancock tower, many other tall buildings have since been built such as the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, One Dalton Street at 742 feet and the Millennium Tower in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood at 685 feet. The financial district, including the Federal Reserve Bank is now the 5th tallest at 614 feet. The Prudential, John Hancock and now the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences towers dominate the Back Bay skyline. Critical reception When it was built, the Prudential Tower received mostly positive architectural reviews. The New York Times