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Rainier Tower

41-story skyscraper in Seattle, Washington


41-story skyscraper in Seattle, Washington

FieldValue
nameRainier Tower
imageRainier Tower Seattle Washington.jpg
image_size250px
former_namesRainier Bank Tower (1977–89)
Security Pacific Tower (1989–95)
alternate_namesRainier Square
location1301 Fifth Avenue
Seattle, Washington
coordinates
map_typeSeattle WA Downtown
map_captionLocation within downtown Seattle
completion_date1977
building_typeCommercial offices
roof156.67 m
floor_count41
2 below ground
elevator_count13
floor_area538000 sqft
architectMinoru Yamasaki
NBBJ
structural_engineerMagnusson Klemencic Associates
ownerUnico Properties
references

Security Pacific Tower (1989–95) Seattle, Washington 2 below ground NBBJ

Rainier Tower is a 41-story, 156.67 m skyscraper in the Metropolitan Tract of Seattle, Washington, at 1301 Fifth Avenue. It was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the World Trade Center in New York City as well as the IBM Building, which is on the corner across the street from Rainier Tower to the southeast. Its construction was completed in 1977.

The skyscraper has an unusual appearance, being built atop an 11-story, 37 m concrete pedestal base that tapers towards ground level, like an inverted pyramid. Architect Yamasaki chose the design in order to preserve the greenery of downtown Seattle and allow more ground space to be devoted to a retail shopping plaza.

Beneath the tower was Rainier Square, an underground shopping mall connecting with One Union Square, which is owned by the University of Washington (UW). This shopping center was demolished in 2017. Both the mall and tower were originally named after Rainier Bank, which was merged in the 1980s into Security Pacific, which was eventually merged into Bank of America. The tower was named after Security Pacific in 1989 until UW chose to rename it back to the more familiar "Rainier Tower" in 1995.

Locals often refer to it as the "Beaver Building" as its physical appearance looks like a tree being felled by a beaver. It had also been referred to as the "golf tee" building.

In 2015, the University of Washington proposed the Rainier Square Tower, an 850 ft mixed-use tower, to occupy space on the same block as the Rainier Tower. Construction began in September 2017, and completed in 2020.

References

References

  1. {{CTBUH. 3568
  2. "Emporis building ID 119487". [[Emporis]].
  3. {{SkyscraperPage. 3542
  4. {{Structurae. 20027203
  5. (September 23, 1995). "It's A New (Old) Song: Rainier Tower Gets Its Name Back". The Seattle Times.
  6. Woodridge, Sally B.. (1980). "A Guide to Architecture in Washington State". University of Washington Press.
  7. "Rainier Tower".
  8. "PCAD - Marine Bancorporation, Rainier National Bank, Headquarters Building, Downtown, Seattle, WA".
  9. (2015). "Yamasaki in Detroit : a Search for Serenity". [Wayne State University Press].
  10. Bhatt, Sanjay. (October 3, 2013). "UW has big plans for its prime downtown Seattle real estate". [[The Seattle Times]].
  11. Glenn R. Pascall. (May 8, 1998). "Too Big To Fail – To Too Big To Succeed?". The Puget Sound Business Journal.
  12. (June 2017). "Lonely Planet Pocket Seattle". [[Lonely Planet]].
  13. "Rainier Square Bank Tower". Yamasaki Inc..
  14. "Rainier Square Hotel". Emporis.
  15. "Rainier Square - The Skyscraper Center".
  16. "Rainier Square Tower".
  17. Russel Fortmeyer. (May 1, 2021). "Rainier Square by NBBJ". [[Architectural Record]].
  18. Brian Miller. (August 5, 2021). "400 University is done, says Wright Runstad, and ready for tenants". [[Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce]].
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