With the end of 2016 almost here, we're taking a look back at some of the coolest Boston startup offices we visited this year. Now, some of these tech companies, like HubSpot and Facebook, aren't startups anymore, but they certainly keep the startup ethos strong, with their beer gardens, eccentric artwork and other items you probably wouldn't find in your traditional office.
Here's a look at some of our favorite offices from 2016:
PillPack
Online pharmacy startup PillPack easily tops the list with its new Somerville headquarters, which has a vintage, restaurant-like feel to it. One of the coolest features in the 9,500-square-foot space is a full bar from the 1930's that came from a Lower East Side establishment. But leaving it just at that would detract from the rest of the picturesque office, which eschews the traditional startup office aesthetic. And to top it off, it has a wide shelf of vintage medicine bottles, calling back to PillPack's roots.
See more photos from PillPack's office here.
Criteo
Criteo is a Paris-based adtech company that has a large Boston presence, with around 215 employees at last check. The company's Boston office in the 60 State St. skyscraper has a very playful aesthetic, with an entire section carved out for various recreational activities, including cornhole, an arcade cabinet, shuffleboard and table tennis. One of its most distinctive features is a stainless steel slide that connects the second floor to the first because using the elevator is old school.
See more photos from Criteo's office here.
LeanBox
LeanBox — which provides refrigerated vending machines full of healthy and fresh food — is one of the few startups that has its office in an actual mansion. The building at the corner of Massachusetts and Commonwealth avenues was built in 1883 for Oliver Ames, who was once governor of Massachusetts, and his wife Anna Coffin Ames, according to BackBayHouses.org. The space is dominated by dark, carved wood, fabric-covered walls, crystal chandeliers and gold-trimmed tray ceilings.
See more photos from LeanBox's office here.
After Mark Zuckerberg left Harvard for Silicon Valley to grow Facebook, the social media giant came back to Cambridge three years ago to build an engineering office here. With nearly 100 employees now, the office is now in the process of taking the entire eighth floor of One Broadway in Kendall Square, the home of Cambridge Innovation Center. Facebook's Boston team is led by Ryan Mack, whose artistic side has allowed the company to furnish the office with various art installations from local artists.
See more photos from Facebook's office here.
LogMeIn
At the beginning of the year, LogMeIn opened a new five-story office in Boston across from its headquarters on Summer Street. The sprawling office has many cool features, including a basketball court, a large cafeteria with a barista-staffed café and large murals on each floor representing LogMeIn's other offices across the world.
See more photos from LogMeIn's office here.
SnapApp
Marketing tech startup SnapApp decided to take a very playful and outdoorsy approach to its new headquarters in Boston's Back Bay. That means colorful Adirondack chairs and other kinds of outdoor furniture, conference rooms named after retro video games and office game staples like cornhole and foosball. One of the unique aspects of SnapApp's office is that the company gave each department a budget to design their own sections. The customer success team, for instance, gave itself an aquatic theme.
See more photos from SnapApp's office here.
Localytics
Earlier this year, Localytics, a mobile engagement platform provider, moved its Boston headquarters into a 30,000-square-foot office overlooking Government Center. When you step into Localytics' office, one of the first things you might notice is how much of it is lit with natural light. The office's design combines a raw industrial low of concrete, grays and chromes with cut-out wooden sections. One of its coolest features is a "rejuvenation room" that has changing light colors.
See more photos from Localytics' office.
athenahealth
With around 2,000 people spread across seven different buildings, athenahealth's Arsenal on the Charles campus in Watertown almost feels like its own village, which also has plenty of green space and three restaurants. The campus, which the company bought from Harvard in 2012 for $168.5 million, was once a storage and manufacturing facility where thousands of workers assembled weapons through the end of World War II.
See more photos from athenahealth's office.
HubSpot
Back in January, HubSpot expanded to a second building across from its 25 First St. headquarters in Cambridge. With hundreds of employees in its new 60,000-square-foot office, HubSpot employees have plenty of areas to work — ranging from standing desks to relaxation spaces — and a variety of things to do during their downtime, including getting a brew in the beer garden or getting some java from its barista-staffed café. The office also has a private outdoor patio, and it allows dogs.
See more photos from HubSpot's office.
Infinidat
In the fall, Infinidat, a cloud data storage startup led by EMC veteran Moshe Yanai, officially opened its new U.S. headquarters in Waltham, and the outside alone is cool to look at, with a large, emerald-tinged logo. Inside, the office has a very futuristic feel, with lots of bright white panels and glass enclosures decorated with polygonal decals.
See more photos from Infinidat's office.
PillPack feature photo by Jared Kuzia.
