Welcome to John Hancock, Please Write Small
From my days as a bike messenger in Boston.
This is 200 Clarendon Street in Boston’s Back Bay.
It’s the tallest building in Boston, looming over Copley Place, Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library.
Back when I was a bike messenger in Boston, in the early years of the new millenium, this building was known as the John Hancock Tower, because John Hancock Financial was the major tenant. (This patriotic company has since been purchased by a Canadian firm.)
Despite it’s sleek lobby and the stunning views from the upper floors, I always hated visiting the Hancock Tower.
Every skyscraper is a fortress.
In reality, these towers are just office space, but the people working there find it psychologically important to be inside the tower, while everybody else is outside. They like to feel as though there’s a moat around the building, and some brutes at the gate to protect them. Gotta keep out the riff-raff.
This feeling of belonging, this feeling of superiority is one of the things that keeps office workers coming back, day over day, to their stultifying, often meaningless jobs. It makes them feel important. If you see people below you when you look down, it’s a mighty salve and distraction…
