List of tallest buildings in Seattle

Skyline of Seattle

The tallest building in the U.S. city of Seattle, Washington is the 76-story Columbia Center, which rises 937 feet (286 m) and was completed in 1985.[1] It is currently the 20th-tallest building in the United States, and the tallest building in the state of Washington. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city and the state is the 1201 Third Avenue, which rises 772 feet (235 m).[2] Nineteen of the twenty tallest buildings in Washington are located in Seattle.[3]

The history of skyscrapers in Seattle began with the 1904 completion of the Alaska Building, which is often regarded as the first steel-framed skyscraper in the city;[4] it rises 14 floors and 203 feet (62 m) in height.[5] Seattle went through a large construction boom in the late 1970s and 1980s, resulting in the construction of 15 of the city's 20 tallest buildings, including Columbia Center and the 1201 Third Avenue. Seattle entered into another high-rise construction boom in 2000, and has since seen the completion of two buildings that stand at least 500 feet (152 m) in height. Today, Seattle boasts 12 completed skyscrapers[A] that rise at least 500 feet (152 m) in height, with two more under construction. Seattle's skyline is ranked first in the Northwestern United States, third on the West Coast (after Los Angeles and San Francisco) and eleventh in the United States.[B]

As of May 2008, there are 204 completed high-rises in the city, and 63 high-rise buildings under construction, approved for construction, and proposed for construction,[6] including 22 buildings over 400 feet (122 m).

Contents

Skyline of Seattle

Tallest buildings

Columbia Center, Seattle's tallest building
1201 Third Avenue, the 2nd-tallest building in Seattle
One and Two Union Square, the 17th- and 3rd-tallest buildings in the city
1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza is the 5th-tallest building in Seattle.
The Space Needle is the tallest non-building structure in Seattle.

This list ranks Seattle skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. Freestanding observation towers, while not habitable buildings, are included for comparison purposes; however, they are not ranked.

Rank Name Height
ft / m
Floors Year Notes
01.01 Columbia Center 937 / 285 76 1985 64th-tallest building in the world; 20th-tallest in the United States; has been the tallest building in Seattle and the state of Washington since 1985; tallest building on the West Coast when completed, now the second-tallest; has more floors than any other building west of the Mississippi River; highest observation deck in the state is located on the building's 73rd floor; tallest building constructed in Seattle in the 1980s[1][7]
02.02 1201 Third Avenue 772 / 235 55 1988 197th-tallest building in the world; 60th-tallest in the United States[2][8]
03.03 Two Union Square 740 / 226 56 1989 88th-tallest building in the United States[9][10]
04.04 Seattle Municipal Tower 722 / 220 62 1990 105th-tallest building in the United States; tallest building constructed in Seattle in the 1990s[11][12]
05.05 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza 630 / 192 50 1969 Tallest building constructed in Seattle in the 1960s[13][14]
06.0 Space Needle[C] 605 / 184 5 1962 Tallest observation tower in Washington, 3rd-tallest in the United States[15][16]
07.06 Russell Investments Center 598 / 182 42 2006 Tallest building constructed in Seattle in the 2000s[17][18]
08.07 US Bank Centre 580 / 177 44 1989 [19][20]
09.08 Wells Fargo Center 573 / 175 47 1983 [21][22]
10.09 Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza 543 / 166 42 1981 [23][24]
11.010 Union Bank of California Center 536 / 163 41 1973 Tallest building constructed in Seattle in the 1970s[25][26]
12.011 Rainier Tower 514 / 157 31 1977 [27][28]
13.012 Fourth and Madison Building 512 / 156 40 2002 [29][30]
14.013 1918 Eighth Avenue 500 / 152 36 2009 Most recently completed skyscraper in the city[31]
15.014 Qwest Plaza 498 / 151 33 1976 [32][33]
16.015 1000 Second Avenue 493 / 150 43 1987 [34][35]
17.016 Henry M. Jackson Federal Building 487 / 148 37 1974 [36][37]
18.017 Smith Tower 462 / 141 42 1914 Tallest building constructed in Seattle in the 1910s[38][39]
19.018 One Union Square 456 / 139 36 1981 [40][41]
20.019 Olive 8 455 / 139 39 2009 [42][43]
21.020 1111 Third Avenue 454 / 138 34 1980 [44][45]
22.021 Westin Seattle North Tower 449 / 137 47 1982 Tallest all-hotel building in the city[46][47]
23.022 Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue 440 / 134 38 2008 [48][49]
24.023 Westin Building 409 / 125 34 1981 [50][51]
25.024 Aspira 400 / 122 37 2009 [52]

Tallest under construction, approved and proposed

Under construction

This lists skyscrapers that are under construction in Seattle that are expected to rise over 400 feet (122 m), but are not yet completed structures.

Name Height
ft / m
Floors Year
(est.)
Notes
Seventh at Westlake Tower 426 / 130 32 TBA Construction is on-hold.[53]

Approved

This lists skyscrapers that are approved for construction in Seattle that are expected to rise over 400 feet (122 m), but are not yet completed structures.

Name Height
ft / m
Floors Year*
(est.)
Notes
Fifth and Columbia Tower 660 / 201 43 2011 Construction was set to begin in March 2009, but has been postponed.[54][55][56]
505 Madison 560 / 171 40 2010 [57][58]
AVA 445 / 136 39 2010 Project is on-hold.[59]
Candela Hotel & Residences 410 / 125 36 2012 [60]
Insignia I 400 / 122 41 2010 [61]
Insignia II 400 / 122 41 2010 [62]

* Table entries without text indicate that information regarding one or more of building heights, floor counts, and dates of completion has not yet been released.

Proposed

This lists skyscrapers that are proposed for construction in Seattle that are expected to rise over 400 feet (122 m), but are not yet completed structures.

Name Height
ft / m
Floors Year*
(est.)
Notes
Emerald City Tower I 1000+ / 305+ 82 [63]
Emerald City Tower II 550 / 168 40 [63]
Heron Tower 550 / 168 46 2010 Project is on-hold.[64][65]
Pagoda Tower 550 / 168 40 2010 Project is on-hold.[66]
Seattle Civic Square 520 / 159 40 2011 [67][68]
811 Stewart Hotel 500 / 152 51 2013 [69]
Kinects 440 / 134 40 2011 [70]
Trophy Building 440 / 134 40 2010 [71]
2015 2nd Avenue 440 / 134 38 2010 [72]
1931 2nd Avenue 440 / 134 38 2010 [73]
Stewart / Minor 440 / 134 32 2011 Project is on-hold.[74]
901 Lenora 400 / 122 40 [75]
8th and Stewart Condominiums 400 / 122 38 2009 [76]
1012 1st Avenue 400 / 122 36 2011 [77]

* Table entries without text indicate that information regarding one or more of building heights, floor counts, and dates of completion has not yet been released.

Timeline of tallest buildings

The Smith Tower was the tallest building in Seattle for 55 years.

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Seattle. The Space Needle is not a building, and is thus not included in this list; the 605-foot (184 m) tower[16] was the tallest structure in the city from 1961 to 1969. Likewise the Old King County Courthouse stood as the tallest structure from 1890 to 1904.

Name Street address Years as tallest Height
ft / m
Floors Reference
Pioneer Building 612 First Avenue 1892–1904 110 / 34[D] 6 [78]
Alaska Building 618 Second Avenue 1904–1906 203 / 62 14 [79]
King Street Station Tower 303 South Jackson Street 1906–1914 246 / 75 8 [80]
Smith Tower 506 Second Avenue 1914–1969 489 / 149 38 [39]
1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza 1001 4th Avenue 1969–1985 630 / 192 50 [14]
Columbia Center 701 5th Avenue 1985–present 937 / 285 76 [7]

See also

Notes

A. ^ This excludes the Space Needle, as it is not a fully habitable building.
B. ^ New York has 216 existing and under construction buildings over 500 feet (152 m), Chicago has 107, Miami has 37, Houston has 31, Los Angeles has 22, Dallas has 19, Atlanta has 19, San Francisco has 18, Las Vegas has 17, Boston has 16 and Seattle has 14. Source of skyline ranking information: SkyscraperPage.com: New York, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston, Seattle.
C. ^ The Space Needle is not a habitable building, but is included in this list for comparative purposes. Per a ruling by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, freestanding observation towers are not considered to be buildings, as they are not fully habitable structures.
D. ^ The height of the Pioneer Building was reduced to 92 feet (28 m) after the 1949 Olympia Earthquake.

References

General
Specific
  1. 1.0 1.1 "Columbia Center". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=columbiacenter-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Washington Mutual Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=washingtonmutualtower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  3. "Diagram of Washington skyscrapers". Skyscraperpage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?36971376. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
  4. "Alaska Building, Seattle's first steel-framed skyscraper, is completed in 1904.". HistoryLink.org. http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=1975. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  5. "Alaska Building". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=streetalaskabuilding-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
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  7. 7.0 7.1 "Columbia Center". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=52. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  8. "Washington Mutual Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=164. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  9. "Two Union Square". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=2unionsquare-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
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  11. "Seattle Municipal Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=seattlemunicipaltower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  12. "Seattle Municipal Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=156. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  13. "1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=10014avenuenueplaza-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 "1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=3521. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
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  17. "WaMu Center". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=wamucenter-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
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  19. "City Centre". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=usbankcentre-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
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  21. "Wells Fargo Center". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=wellsfargocenter-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
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  25. "Union Bank of California Center". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=unionbankofcaliforniacenter-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
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  27. "Rainier Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=rainiertower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  28. "Rainier Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=3542. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  29. "IDX Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=idxtower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  30. "IDX Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=3513. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  31. "1918 Eighth Avenue". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=19188avenuenuetower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  32. "Qwest Plaza". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=qwestplaza-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  33. "Qwest Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=826. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  34. "1000 Second Avenue". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=10002avenuenue-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  35. "1000 Second Avenue". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=3552. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  36. "Henry M. Jackson Federal Building". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=henrymjacksonfederalbuilding-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  37. "Henry M. Jackson Federal Building". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=4709. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  38. "Smith Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=smithtower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  39. 39.0 39.1 "Smith Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=6965. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  40. "One Union Square". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=1unionsquare-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  41. "One Union Square". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=3549. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  42. "Olive 8". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=olive8-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  43. "Olive 8". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=41052. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
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  45. "1111 Third Avenue". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=3550. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  46. "Westin Seattle North Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=streetwestinseattle-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
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  48. "Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=15212avenuenue-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  49. "1521 Second". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=41840. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  50. "Westin Building". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=westinbuilding-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  51. "Westin Building". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=7178. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  52. "Aspira". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=aspira-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  53. "Seventh at Westlake Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=7atwestlaketower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  54. "Fifth and Columbia Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=5andcolumbiatower-toronto-canada. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
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  57. "505 Madison". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=505madison-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
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  59. "AVA". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=8andpine-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  60. "Candela Hotel & Residences". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=2andpikecondominiums-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  61. "Insignia I". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=23016avenuenuetower1-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  62. "Insignia II". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=23016avenuenuetower2-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
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  64. "Heron Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=19035avenuenue-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  65. "Heron Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=59515. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  66. "Pagoda Tower". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=pagodatower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  67. "Seattle Civic Square". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=civicsquaretower-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
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  69. "811 Stewart Hotel". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=811stewarthotel-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  70. "Kinects". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=1823minor-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  71. "Trophy Building". http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=74402. 
  72. "2015 2nd Avenue". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=20152avenuenue-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  73. "1931 2nd Avenue". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=19312avenuenue-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  74. "Stewart / Minor". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=sewartminor-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  75. "901 Lenora". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=ninthandlenora-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  76. "8th and Stewart Condominiums". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=8andstewartcondominiums-seattle-wa-usa. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
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  79. "Alaska Building". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=7676. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  80. "King Street Station Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=7685. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 

External links