Apple's Largest Store Opening in Boston

The grand opening of the Boylston Street store, Apple's largest in the U.S., is set for 6 p.m. Thursday. The store encompasses three floors behind its glass facade, two dedicated to Macs, iPhones and iPods and a top-floor Genius Bar, where some of the store's 165 employees will dole out service with a smile.

Apple execs have said the vendor first selected the site in 2000 but had to wait for the lease on the previous tenant to run out. It also ran into some trouble with the building design when the city asked for changes.

But now it's here.

Bostonians caught their first real glimpse of the structure on Tuesday when work crews peeled off the covering that had been hiding the building from view. Until then, the front had been made up to look like the famed "Green Monster" left field wall of Red Sox home Fenway Park. The score board image proclaimed "Opening Day. Coming Soon."

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino toured the facility today, ahead of the thousands expected to up for opening night on Thursday. Apple already has eight retail stores in Massachusetts, but this is the first to open in Boston proper.

Apple now has 210 retail stores across five countries and claims that nearly 350 million people have walked through their doors.