Converse Flips the Switch on the Sign at their Boston Headquarters

Image via Converse/Evgenia Eliseeva

Supplemented by the heavy metal riffs of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Converse officially turned on the lights to their sign overlooking Charlestown and the Zakim Bridge on Wednesday night, to celebrate their new world headquarters opening in Boston in the spring.

Jim Calhoun, Converse’s CEO and president, and team members from the footwear company gathered together across from the building at Lovejoy Wharf to take in the historic moment, as a pyrotechnics display illuminated the skyline for drivers heading home during rush hour.

Converse signed a deal and announced plans to relocate to Boston from North Andover back in 2013. “Converse was founded a few miles outside of Boston more than 100 years ago and we are honored to be part of this thriving business community and the city’s well known cultural hub of innovation and creativity,” Calhoun said at the time of the announcement. “We are thrilled to establish our new home in Boston and look forward to growing with the city in the years to come.”

The new, 200,000-square-foot space, located near the TD Garden, will include a collaborative workplace for artists to record music.

Late Mayor Tom Menino called the plans to bring Converse to the city a “perfect marriage” that would ignite the revitalization of the Lovejoy Wharf area, and create more jobs in Boston.