When you’re beautiful, man, you gotta pose… and one article about you really isn’t enough.
Thus it was that I was strolling over the Mass. Ave. bridge to meet a friend in Central Square when a voice whispered through the balmy air: “Take me. Take another photo of me. Now.”
“Huh?” I gulped, whipping toward the glistening Charles River in confusion. And it was then that the glory of the scene exploded into my sight. “OH!” I gasped in ecstasy.
At that precise moment, the sun was blazing lower as it set, and at that particular angle, a laser beam of sun was ricocheting from the heavens above, right onto the pure glass panes of the Hancock Building, then zinging forcefully out onto the undulating sapphire water below!
“WOW,” I gasped.
“I told you I look amazing tonight,” declared the Hancock smugly. “Get your camera out already.”
And so, like a tourist lovestruck with a new city (rather than the gal who’s spent 23 of her 28 years in this town), I snapped hungrily away at the blue-framed skyline with my little camera, irritable joggers dodging me while spewing clouds of swears.
It was as if the Hancock had turned into a precipitous waterslide and the sunshine into a child, zipping down the tube into the water below! Wheeee! To the left stood the proud, plain Prudential Building, conceding, “The Hancock really does look sexy tonight. You take those pictures, girl.”
The sun set, and I went to meet my friend in Central Square, giddy from the joy of gazing on beauty.
The next day I was apartment hunting downtown, when what should greet me but another whisper. “You told your readers about how I look from this angle, right?” the Hancock purred. “They deserve a photo to prove it.”
I looked up… and the sexy building was right again! Remember in my previous article how I explained how the Hancock is a parallelogram, not a square, and so it looks freaking TWO-DIMENSIONAL at a certain angle? Well look at the photo to the upper left for proof! Awesomeness! How could I fail to pull out my camera once again?
Night fell and I trudged home through the South End, apartment lease triumphantly signed. Gas lamps shone green through the lush trees and the earth tones of the historic brownstones exuded warmth on either side of the narrow street.
“Psst!” said a familiar voice.
“Is that you again, Hancock?” I smiled.
“Yep!” said the building, “it’s me!” I winked up at the luminescent tower, which had become a gold-striped ribbon against the deep blue sky.
“Safe travels!” called the Hancock warmly. “If you ever get lost, I’m here to guide you… And if you ever need some sexy in your day, you know I’m here to pose.”
“My dear,” I replied, “I am well aware.”
For more famous architecture, click that link!

The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
Rei
Sunday 21st of December 2014
Wow this story was so hilarious, lol.
Lillie
Sunday 21st of December 2014
Glad you enjoyed it, Rei. :)
namir
Tuesday 3rd of May 2011
It is awesome having great buildings in Boston that just make you want to go crazy and snap photos of them and write some great stories.
stephz
Friday 29th of October 2010
I'm terrified of Tall things. They make me feel like a bug.
Mohamed Abdelrahim
Thursday 28th of October 2010
That building does look extremely cool. I can see how you couldn't reist to take your camera out and capture the moment. I like the two-dimensional picture of the Hancock building and the one were the street lights were green. You know what made it seem even better, I was listening to pop music at the same time I was viewing those awesome pictures.
Erica
Tuesday 5th of October 2010
EEEEE! The sun reflection on the water would have had me giddy as all hell! Love it!
Lillie
Tuesday 5th of October 2010
RIGHT??!!!!! Glad you feel to, too!!!!