Safeco Plaza (Seattle)
| Safeco Plaza | |
|---|---|
Viewed from the 48th floor sundeck of Washington Mutual Tower
|
|
| Alternative names | 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza Seafirst Building Seattle-First National Bank Building |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Seattle and Washington state from 1969 to 1985 | |
| Preceded by |
Space Needle Smith Tower |
| Surpassed by | Columbia Center |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 1001 Fourth Avenue Seattle, Washington |
| Coordinates | 47°36′22″N 122°20′03″W / 47.6061°N 122.3341°WCoordinates: 47°36′22″N 122°20′03″W / 47.6061°N 122.3341°W |
| Construction started | 1966 |
| Completed | 1969 |
| Cost | US$32 million |
| Owner | CommonWealth Partners, CalPERS |
| Management | CommonWealth Partners |
| Height | |
| Roof | 192 m (630 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 50 |
| Floor area | 70,089 m2 (754,430 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 18 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Naramore, Bain, Bray, and Johanson |
| Structural engineer | Skilling Helle Christiansen and Robertson |
| Main contractor | Howard S. Wright Construction Company |
| References | |
Safeco Plaza, previously 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza and the Seattle-First National Bank Building, is a 50-story, 630 ft (190 m) skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington. The building is referred to by locals as "The Box the Space Needle Came In". When the tower was completed in 1969 by the by the Howard S. Wright Construction Company for Seattle First National Bank, it dwarfed Smith Tower, which had reigned as downtown's tallest building since 1914, and edged out the Space Needle (built in 1962) in Seattle Center by 25 ft (7.6 m) to become the tallest structure in the city until 1985 with the completion of the Columbia Center.
The bronze-colored aluminum and glass structure was the first modern class-A office building in Seattle and is the first skyscraper in the world to feature a Vierendeel space frame. The structure includes a two-story lobby as well as a five story subterranean garage. Other amenities include 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail featuring a fitness center, a bank, some restaurants, a medical center and a post office. The property also houses a sculpture titled Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae 1968 by Henry Moore which is owned by the Seattle Art Museum.
Safeco Insurance Company of America leased 284,000 square feet (26,400 m2) of the building on May 23, 2006 to be its headquarters, moving from offices in the University District and Redmond, and renamed it Safeco Plaza. The company announced in 2015 that it would consolidate its offices into the tower, increasing its lease from 17 to 26 floors.
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