1201 Third Avenue
Encyclopedia
1201 Third Avenue, formerly Washington Mutual Tower is the second tallest skyscraper
in the downtown Seattle
skyline
. At 55 stories and 235.31 m (772 ft), it is the eighth tallest skyscraper on the West Coast
. Developed by Wright Runstad & Company, construction began in 1986 and finished in 1988. The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and The McKinley Architects. The building was the world headquarters of the financial company Washington Mutual
from the building's opening until the company moved into the WaMu Center across the street in 2006.
. It was the first major office building built under Seattle’s 1985 downtown zoning plan, largely implemented in response to the Columbia Center
, which called for height limits, interesting profiles, and height and density bonuses for public amenities to create a 24 hour downtown. The tower took advantage of all the height bonuses for public amenities that the 1985 plan called for including an entrance to the Metro Transit Tunnel, retail space, day care, public plaza, sculptured top, hillside public escalators and lobby/atrium public access as well as donating $2.5 million for off-site housing. By providing the amenities the designers were able to add 28 stories to the tower and almost double the base floor area ratio
of the site. The building was built on the site of the 12-story Savoy Hotel which was imploded in 1986, however the architects incorporated the historic Brooklyn Building into the design of the tower.
The New York Times
named it one of the three best new office buildings in the United States
in 1988, and in the May 1989 issue of Architecture Magazine Walter McQuade called it "perhaps the best recent addition to any U.S. skyline." Paul Goldberger
said of the tower, “The building seems proud of its height; for all its classical elements it has a certain sleekness, and in this sense it is characteristic of our time, at least in intention, for it bespeaks a desire to combine the formal imagery of classicism and the energizing aura of modernity.” Seattlites have voted the 55-story skyscraper as one of their favorite buildings. The building is managed by Wright Runstad & Company.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in the downtown Seattle
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared to other city centers on the West Coast because of its geographical situation: hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by the Elliott Bay, and on the south by reclaimed land that was once...
skyline
Skyline
A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
. At 55 stories and 235.31 m (772 ft), it is the eighth tallest skyscraper on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. Developed by Wright Runstad & Company, construction began in 1986 and finished in 1988. The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and The McKinley Architects. The building was the world headquarters of the financial company Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual, Inc. , abbreviated to WaMu, was a savings bank holding company and the former owner of Washington Mutual Bank, which was the United States' largest savings and loan association until its collapse in 2008....
from the building's opening until the company moved into the WaMu Center across the street in 2006.
History
Kohn Pedersen Fox was hired to design the tower while visiting Seattle to be interviewed as a possible candidate for the job of designing the Seattle Art MuseumSeattle Art Museum
The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...
. It was the first major office building built under Seattle’s 1985 downtown zoning plan, largely implemented in response to the Columbia Center
Columbia Center
Columbia 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...
, which called for height limits, interesting profiles, and height and density bonuses for public amenities to create a 24 hour downtown. The tower took advantage of all the height bonuses for public amenities that the 1985 plan called for including an entrance to the Metro Transit Tunnel, retail space, day care, public plaza, sculptured top, hillside public escalators and lobby/atrium public access as well as donating $2.5 million for off-site housing. By providing the amenities the designers were able to add 28 stories to the tower and almost double the base floor area ratio
Floor Area Ratio
The floor area ratio or floor space index is the ratio of the total floor area of buildings on a certain location to the size of the land of that location, or the limit imposed on such a ratio....
of the site. The building was built on the site of the 12-story Savoy Hotel which was imploded in 1986, however the architects incorporated the historic Brooklyn Building into the design of the tower.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
named it one of the three best new office buildings in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1988, and in the May 1989 issue of Architecture Magazine Walter McQuade called it "perhaps the best recent addition to any U.S. skyline." Paul Goldberger
Paul Goldberger
Paul Goldberger is the Architecture Critic for The New Yorker, where since 1997 he has written the magazine's celebrated "Sky Line" column. He also holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City...
said of the tower, “The building seems proud of its height; for all its classical elements it has a certain sleekness, and in this sense it is characteristic of our time, at least in intention, for it bespeaks a desire to combine the formal imagery of classicism and the energizing aura of modernity.” Seattlites have voted the 55-story skyscraper as one of their favorite buildings. The building is managed by Wright Runstad & Company.
Appearances in the media
- A CGIComputer-generated imageryComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
version of this building makes an appearance on the teaser trailer for the film InceptionInceptionInception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...
(2010). It is found toward the end of the trailer on the curved cityscape where the movie's namesake has been carved out.
See also
- List of skyscrapers
- List of tallest buildings in Seattle