Congress Center (formerly the Orbanco Building and Security Pacific Plaza) is an office building completed in 1980 in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. It is currently the ninth tallest building in the city. The building's current name dates to January 2002.
History
Construction began in 1978
and was completed in 1980. It was named the Orbanco Building, for its largest tenant, Orbanco Inc., which at the time of groundbreaking was set to lease around 30 percent of the space. That company's two largest subsidiaries,
Oregon Bank (established in 1887)
["Bank moves to new home" (March 23, 1980). ''The Sunday Oregonian'', p. E8.]["100-Year Club singles out Oregon Bank" (April 30, 1987). ''The Oregonian'', p. E16.] and Northwest Acceptance Corporation, were set to be headquartered in the building.
[ Oregon Bank moved to the new building from another ]downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
location in March 1980.Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...
(LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a private 501(c)(3), membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of t ...
in 2012 for its sustainability. American Realty Advisors and Unico Properties LLC purchased the building in December 2016 for $85 million from Shorenstein Properties
Shorenstein is a real estate investment company based in San Francisco that owns interests in of office space throughout the United States. The company has sponsored twelve closed-end real estate funds, with total equity commitments of $8.8 bill ...
.
Design
The firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer ...
(SOM) designed what is now Congress Center, with reflective dark glass that contrasts with the mostly white or lighter colored architecture common in Portland's architectural
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
history. However, the highly reflective surface of Congress Center's glass curtain walls reflect all the nearby buildings. Most notable are 1000 Broadway, the Portland Building
The Portland Building, alternatively referenced as the Portland Municipal Services Building, is a 15-story municipal office building located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland, Oregon. Built at a cost of US$29 million, it opened in 1982 ...
and Multnomah County Courthouse.
Name
The current name is the fourth name the building has carried.Security Pacific Bank
Security Pacific National Bank (SPNB) was a large U.S. bank headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was acquired by Bank of America in 1992.
History
On September 1, 1868, Hellman, Temple and Co. opened their first bank branch in Los ...
, which had acquired Oregon Bank in 1987.Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
in 1992,Terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
arches from the Congress Hotel were restored for use as an entry to a lower level restaurant.[
]
See also
*Architecture of Portland, Oregon
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
*List of tallest buildings in Portland, Oregon
File:South Downtown Waterfront - Portland, Oregon.JPG, 350px, Skyline of Portland's south downtown in 2010 (Use cursor to identify buildings)
poly 456 444 508 400 848 420 828 1144 776 1144 776 1224 568 1228 568 1204 536 1184 540 1016 476 932 4 ...
References
External links
*
{{Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Skyscraper office buildings in Portland, Oregon
Office buildings completed in 1980
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certified buildings
1980 establishments in Oregon
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings