- Columbia Center
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For other uses, see Columbia Center (disambiguation).
Columbia Center 
Columbia Center viewed from Smith Tower, August 2007.Former names Bank of America Tower
Columbia Seafirst CenterGeneral information Type Commercial offices Location 701 Fifth Avenue
Seattle, WashingtonCoordinates 47°36′16″N 122°19′50″W / 47.60453°N 122.33069°WCoordinates: 47°36′16″N 122°19′50″W / 47.60453°N 122.33069°W Construction started 1982 Completed 1985 Cost US$200 million Height Antenna spire 294.74 m (967.0 ft) Roof 284.2 m (932 ft) Technical details Floor count 76
7 below groundFloor area 1,538,000 sq ft (142,900 m2) Elevator count 46 Design and construction Architect Chester Lindsey Architects
Magnusson Klemencic AssociatesStructural engineer Leslie E. Robertson Associates RLLP References [1][2][3][4] Columbia Center (formerly Bank of America Tower and Columbia Seafirst Center) is the tallest skyscraper in the downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the tallest building in the State of Washington, and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It occupies most of the block bounded by Fourth and Fifth Avenues and Cherry and Columbia Streets. At 284.2 m (932 ft) it was the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River when construction was finished; it is currently fourth by that metric, the second tallest building on the West Coast, and the twentieth tallest building in the United States. It contains 76 stories of class-A office space above ground and seven stories of various use below ground, making it the building with the most stories west of the Mississippi. Construction of this building began in 1982 and finished in 1985. It was designed by Chester L. Lindsey Architects who also designed the Fourth and Blanchard Building in the Belltown neighborhood, and was built by Howard S. Wright Construction.
Contents
Design
The base of the building is clad in Rosa Purino Carnelian granite. The building's structure is composed of three geometric concave facades, causing the building to appear like three towers standing side by side. The tower was originally designed to be about 1,005 feet (306.5 meters) tall, but federal regulations by the FAA would not allow it to be that tall so close to the nearby Sea-Tac Airport. Prolific Seattle-area developer Martin Selig (b. 1936) used "public amenities," such as retail space and public areas, as "bonuses" to comply with land-use code requirements including those relating to height. There is an observation deck on the 73rd floor which offers views of Seattle and environs. The top two floors of the building (75th and 76th) are occupied by the private Columbia Tower Club, which houses a restaurant, bar, library, and meeting rooms. An underground concourse connects the building to the nearby Seattle Municipal Tower and Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza.
The tower was originally named Columbia Center when it was first built. The name was later changed to Columbia Seafirst Center, for Seafirst Bank, and then to the Bank of America Tower, when Seafirst, which had been owned by Bank of America since 1983, was fully integrated into Bank of America. That name gave it the nickname "BOAT" (Bank of America Tower). In November 2005, the building's name was changed back to Columbia Center (TCC). However, Bank of America still has a branch in the building.
A number of companies and firms rent office space in the tower. The largest include Bank of America, DLA Piper, and Amazon.com.
Columbia Center plays host to the largest firefighter competition in the world. About 1,300 firefighters from around the world yearly make the trek up 69 floors and 1,311 steps wearing their full firefighter gear. This event benefits the local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.
September 11th attacks
On June 16, 2004, the 9/11 Commission reported that the original plan for the September 11, 2001, attacks called for the hijacking of ten planes, to be crashed into targets including the "tallest buildings in California and Washington State," which would have been the Columbia Center and the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles.[5]
Gallery
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Columbia Center
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Columbia Center when it was called the Bank of America Tower
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Columbia Center from below
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The Space Needle from the observation deck
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Downtown Seattle from the observation deck
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Beneath Columbia Center
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Panorama from the observation deck
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Inside the observation deck
See also
- List of tallest buildings by U.S. state
- Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park
- List of buildings
- List of tallest buildings in Seattle
References
- ^ Columbia Center at Emporis
- ^ Columbia Center at Glass Steel and Stone
- ^ Columbia Center at SkyscraperPage
- ^ Columbia Center at Structurae
- ^ Outline of the 9-11 Plot (Staff Statement No. 16, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks)
External links
Timeline of the tallest buildings in Seattle and Washington Pioneer Building (28 m) (1892) · Alaska Building (51 m) (1904) · Hoge Building (60 m) (1911) · Key Bank Center* (71 m) (1911) · Smith Tower (141 m) (1914) · Space Needle (184 m) (1962) · Safeco Plaza (192 m) (1969) · Columbia Center (285 m) (1985)
*Key Bank Center is located in Tacoma and was only the tallest in Washington when completed. Seattle skyscrapers and towers Current Columbia Center · 1201 Third Avenue · Two Union Square · Seattle Municipal Tower · Safeco Plaza · Space Needle · Russell Investments Center · U.S. Bank Centre · Wells Fargo Center · Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza · 901 Fifth Avenue · Rainier Tower · IBM Building · Fourth and Madison Building · 1000 Second Avenue · Henry M. Jackson Federal Building · Smith Tower · Qwest Plaza · One Union Square · 1111 Third Avenue · Westin Seattle North Tower · University of Washington Plaza · Exchange Building · Westin Building · 1918 Eighth Avenue · Olive 8 · Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue
Proposed Heron Tower · 1823 Minor · 2015 2nd Avenue · 1931 2nd Avenue · 8th and Stewart Condominiums
Approved AVA · Seventh at Westlake Tower · Second and Pike Condominiums · 2301 6th Avenue Tower I · 2301 6th Avenue Tower II
Under construction See also: Tallest buildings in Seattle Categories:- Bank of America buildings
- Buildings and structures completed in 1985
- Office buildings in Seattle, Washington
- Skyscrapers between 250 and 299 meters
- Skyscrapers in Seattle, Washington
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