Ames Building

Boston, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The Ames Building, completed in 1889 in Boston, is considered the city's first skyscraper and was designed by the architectural firm Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Standing 57.3 meters tall, it held the distinction of being Boston's tallest building until the Custom House Tower was built in 1915, though the steeple of the nearby Church of the Covenant remained taller. Originally built as an office building, the structure was converted to a luxury hotel in 2007, and subsequently purchased by Suffolk University in 2020 for conversion into a student residence hall. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.