The modern 12-acre plaza completed in the 1960s provided Hartford with new office buildings, shops and an open mall, and added a striking landmark to the city's skyline: the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Building. This elliptical, glass-sheathed tower is referred to as "the Boat" because of its shape. The plaza is the site of the Hartford Festival of Light, an annual lighting display held every evening from late November to the first of January.