| Safeco Plaza | |
|---|---|
 Safeco Plaza viewed from the sundeck of Washington Mutual Tower in 2008; Columbia Center is directly behind it | |
  Location within downtown Seattle | |
| 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[I] | |
| Preceded by | Space Needle |
| Surpassed by | Columbia Center |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 1001 Fourth Avenue Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 47°36′22″N 122°20′03″W / 47.6061°N 122.3341°W |
| Construction started | 1966 |
| Completed | 1969 |
| Cost | $32 million |
| Owner | Boston Properties |
| Height | |
| Roof | 630 ft (192 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 50 |
| Floor area | 70,089 m2 (754,430 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 18 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Naramore, Bain, Bray, and Johanson |
| Structural engineer | Skilling Helle Christiansen and Robertson |
| Main contractor | Howard S. Wright Construction Company |
| Website | |
| www | |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
Safeco Plaza (formerly known as 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza, the Seafirst Building, and the Seattle-First National Bank Building) is a 50-story skyscraper in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. Designed by the Naramore, Bain, Brady, and Johanson (NBBJ) firm, it was completed in 1969 by the Howard S. Wright Construction Company for Seattle First National Bank (later known as Seafirst Bank), which relocated from its previous headquarters at the nearby Dexter Horton Building.[5]
Standing at a height of 630 feet (192 m), Safeco Plaza was, upon completion, the tallest building (and structure) in Seattle, and the second-tallest building west of Mississippi River, behind 555 California Street in San Francisco.[6] It dwarfed Smith Tower, which had been the tallest building since 1914, and edged out the Space Needle, the tallest structure since 1962, by 25 ft (7.6 m);[7] the latter led locals to refer to the building as "The Box the Space Needle Came In".[8][9] The building was surpassed by the Columbia Center in 1984;[10] as of 2022, it is the seventh-tallest building in Seattle.
The building served as the headquarters of Seafirst until the bank moved into the Columbia Center upon its opening in 1985;[11] in 2006, it became the headquarters of Safeco Insurance, which relocated from its previous headquarters in the University District.
- ^ "Safeco Plaza". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
- ^ "Emporis building ID 119473". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
- ^ "Safeco Plaza". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ Safeco Plaza at Structurae
- ^ Lane, Polly (January 19, 1969). "Tall One to Relate to Seattle-to-Be". The Seattle Times. p. 4C. Retrieved February 11, 2022 – via NewsBank.
- ^ "World's tallest buildings in 1970" (PDF). Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-26.
- ^ Dorpat, Paul (February 3, 2006). "Boxed In". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- ^ "Seafirst sells its skyscraper". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. September 30, 1983. p. 18.
- ^ Stein, Alan J. (May 31, 1999). "Seattle First National Bank building is dedicated on March 28, 1969". HistoryLink. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- ^ Mahoney, Sally Gene (July 1, 1984). "Caught his eye". The Seattle Times. p. D8. Retrieved February 11, 2022 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Lane, Polly (March 31, 1985). "Seafirst Building will get a wind-resistant plaza". The Seattle Times. p. E4. Retrieved February 11, 2022 – via NewsBank.