Shops at Prudential Center

The Shops at Prudential Center

Interior of The Shops at Prudential Center, July 2011.
Address	800 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts, 02199
Opening date	1993
Developer	The Hahn Company
Management	Boston Properties
Owner	Boston Properties
Architect	The Hahn Company
No. of stores and services	75
No. of anchor tenants	2
Total retail floor area	500,914 sq ft (46,536.4 m2)
No. of floors	1
Public transit access	Prudential (MBTA station)
Website	prudentialcenter.com

The Shops at Prudential Center is an urban shopping center located at the base of the Prudential Tower in Boston, Massachusetts. The mall lies adjacent to many other destinations such as: Hynes Convention Center, the 101/111 Huntington Avenue office towers, and a skywalk connecting it to Copley Place.

The shopping complex is anchored by Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue; both owned by Canadian Hudson's Bay Company, and is home to over 75 specialty retailers, including upscale stores such as Lacoste, Club Monaco, Ralph Lauren, Vineyard Vines, and more. The St. Francis Chapel, staffed by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, which is a functioning Roman Catholic chapel, is also located inside the shopping center. A 45,000 square foot open-market format Eataly location was opened in November 2016, replacing the existing food court.

Originally, only one department store (Saks) along with a handful of shops existed around the base of the Prudential Tower in a small shopping arcade. Nearby structures including the Hynes Convention Center, 101 Huntington Avenue office tower, a Sheraton Hotel, and other various shops were separated by open plazas in a patchwork of disjointed buildings. In 1991, a plan was put forth to connect all of the destinations together with an expanded shopping center, in the area bordered by Boylston Street, Huntington Avenue, and Dalton Street. The Hahn Company, together with then-owner Prudential Insurance Company of America, spent over two years developing the $100 million project. In 1993, the new Shops at Prudential Center was completed and largely successful, with retail spaces filled quickly. The Prudential Center was connected through the shopping arcade, with traffic—from office workers to convention attendees—able to travel conveniently to the various destinations. Transportation includes two MBTA stations and multiple bus routes that enter directly into the center.