Rainier Tower

Rainier Tower
Former names	Rainier Bank Tower (1977–89) Security Pacific Tower (1989–95)
Alternative names	Rainier Square
General information
Type	Commercial offices
Location	1301 Fifth Avenue Seattle, Washington
Coordinates	47°36′32″N 122°20′03″W / 47.60902°N 122.33405°WCoordinates: 47°36′32″N 122°20′03″W / 47.60902°N 122.33405°W
Completed	1977
Owner	Unico Properties
Height
Roof	156.67 m (514.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	31 2 below ground
Floor area	538,000 sq ft (50,000 m^2)
Lifts/elevators	12
Design and construction
Architect	Minoru Yamasaki NBBJ
Structural engineer	Magnusson Klemencic Associates
References
[1][2][3][4][5]

Rainier Tower is a 31-story, 156.67 m (514.0 ft) 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.^[6]

The skyscraper has an unusual appearance, being built atop an 11-storey, 37 m (121 ft) concrete pedestal base that tapers towards ground level, like an inverted pyramid.

Beneath the tower is Rainier Square, an underground shopping mall connecting with One Union Square, which is owned by the University of Washington (UW).^[7] 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 BankAmerica.^[8] The tower was named after Security Pacific in 1989 until UW chose to rename it back to the more familiar "Rainier Tower" in 1995.^[5]

Locals often refer to it as the "Beaver Building" as its physical appearance looks like a tree being felled by a beaver.^[9][10] It has also been referred to as the "golf tee" building.^[11]

References

1. Rainier Tower at CTBUH Skyscraper Database
2. Rainier Tower at Emporis
3. Rainier Tower at SkyscraperPage
4. Rainier Tower at Structurae
5. "It's A New (Old) Song: Rainier Tower Gets Its Name Back". The Seattle Times. September 23, 1995.
6. Woodridge, Sally B.; Roger Montgomery (1980). A Guide to Architecture in Washington State. University of Washington Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-295-95779-4.
7. Bhatt, Sanjay (October 3, 2013), "UW has big plans for its prime downtown Seattle real estate", The Seattle Times
8. Glenn R. Pascall (May 8, 1998). "Too Big To Fail – To Too Big To Succeed?". The Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
9. Rainier Square Bank Tower, Yamasaki Inc., retrieved January 15, 2015
10. Seattle's architectural must-sees, Visit Seattle (Seattle/King County's official destination marketing organization), retrieved January 15, 2015
11. Vince Lyons, City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development, Hillclimb Assists (PDF), City of Seattle

External links

• Rainier Tower at Unico Properties
• Rainier Tower at Nordarts