It is named after the nearby Copley Square, and is connected to the Prudential Center shopping mall via a skybridge over Huntington Avenue.

[5] The bi-level indoors mall is noted for its upscale fashion stores, including Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, John Varvatos, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Victorinox Swiss Army, Porsche Design, Tiffany & Co., Jimmy Choo, David Yurman, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo, Saint Laurent, Ermenegildo Zegna, Burberry, Furla, and Gucci.

[8] It was built in 1983 directly above the Massachusetts Turnpike and Huntington Avenue highway interchange ramps, which had been constructed in 1964 on the site of the former South End Armory.

[13] Upon its opening, the indoor mall featured as its centerpiece a 60-foot (18 m) high sculptural fountain designed by Boston artist Dimitri Hadzi.

Other stores which have moved out include Stoddard's (fine cutlery and personal care tools)[15] and Williams Sonoma (kitchenware and food ingredients).

[6] The mall had also housed one of the few major-chain-owned movie theaters within Boston city limits, but the Loews Copley Place Cinemas was closed in January 2005.