Rainier Tower is a 41-story,

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

in the Metropolitan Tract of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, at 1301 Fifth Avenue. It was designed by

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...

, who designed the World Trade Center in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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. The skyscraper has an unusual appearance, being built atop an 11-story, concrete pedestal base that tapers towards ground level, like an inverted pyramid. Architect Yamasaki chose the design in order to preserve the greenery of downtown Seattle and allow more ground space to be devoted to a retail shopping plaza. Beneath the tower was Rainier Square, an underground shopping mall connecting with One Union Square, which is owned by the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

(UW). This shopping center was demolished in 2017. 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

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 ...

. The tower was named after Security Pacific in 1989 until UW chose to rename it back to the more familiar "Rainier Tower" in 1995. Locals often refer to it as the "Beaver Building" as its physical appearance looks like a tree being felled by a beaver. It had also been referred to as the "golf tee" building. In 2015, the University of Washington proposed the Rainier Square Tower, an 850 ft mixed-use tower, to occupy space on the same block as the Rainier Tower. Construction began in September 2017, and completed in 2020.

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Rainier Tower
at Wright Runstad and Company {{Minoru Yamasaki Skyscraper office buildings in Seattle Buildings and structures in Downtown Seattle Bank of America buildings Bank of America legacy banks NBBJ buildings Office buildings completed in 1977 Minoru Yamasaki buildings 1977 establishments in Washington (state)

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