Prudential Skywalk Observatory
One of the best views of Boston is from the 50th floor of the Prudential Building. That's where you'll find the Skywalk Observatory - Boston's only 360 city view.
Along with the amazing view of Boston are several interactive exhibits that will inform you about the history of Boston. Some of the exhibits that you'll see when you're walking around the floor:
- Interactive Multimedia Exhibits, including a "Who wants to be an American Citizen?" Which features ten real citizenship question in a Jeopardy-type format.
- Multimedia Theater - A state-of-the-art movie theater, which continually runs two short films: "Wings Over Boston," an up-close feel of the entire city, and "Dreams of Freedom," a multimedia journey through time.
- Boston Immigration - Learn how immigrants came to Boston. See example items that people would pack in their crates as they made their journey to America.
Fun Facts about the Prudential SkyWalk
- The Prudential Tower is 750 feet tall, 150 feet wide and 178 feet long.
- The Observatory is 50 stories above ground. (740 feet)
- It takes 30 seconds, via elevator, to get to the 50-story observation. This means the elevator is traveling 24 ft/s (feet per second)
- When the Skywalk first opened on April 19, 1965, people waited in line up to four hours to get to the top.
- The ticket booth in the Prudential Mall, near Dunkin Donuts, will let you know the current visibility. In addition, you can also go up to the 50th floor and see the visibility before deciding to purchase tickets.
- When you get off of the elevator and walk to the ticket booth, the first view you see is Cambridge.
- Mt. Wachusetts is visible from the Prudential Skywalk.
- On a clear day, you can see the mountains of New Hampshire and far into the South Shore.
- There is a penny souvenir machine - bring quarters and pennies if you collect Penny Souvenirs.
- The four telescopes around the floor take 2 quarters and worth it if you would like a close up views of faraway points. There is a little step so that little ones can see through the telescope.
- The 500,000 visitor was greeted on a ceremony on September 2, 1965 - 135 days after the SkyView opened.
- In 1980, it cost $1.75 to access the Observatory.
- Prudential garage can hold 3,500 automobiles.
When to Visit
Visit in the afternoon if you looking for views/pictures of Fenway Park, Metro West and Back Bay
Visit in the morning if you want good pictures of Downtown Boston. Otherwise, you may end up seeing the Prudential shadow in your pictures.
Downtown Boston from the Skywalk Observatory at 3pm on November 11, 2016.