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The Bank of America Tower (formerly the Columbia Seafirst Center) is the tallest skyscraper in the downtown Seattle skyline. Standing at a height of 295 meters (967 feet), it is also the fourth tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi, the second tallest on the West Coast, and the twelfth tallest building in the U.S. It contains 76 stories of office space above ground and 7 stories of various use below ground. This makes it the tallest building by number of stories west of the Mississippi. Construction of this building was begun in 1982 and finished in 1985. It was designed by Chester L. Lindsey Architects.
The base of the building is clad in Rosa Purino Carnelian granite, giving the building an elegant appearance. The building's structure is comprised of three geometric arches, causing the building to appear like three towers standing side by side. The tower was originally designed to be about 306.5 meters (1,005 feet) tall, but federal regulations by the FAA would not allow it to be that tall so close to the nearby Sea-Tac Airport. Prolific Seattle-area developer Martin Selig (b. 1936) used "public amenities," such as retail space and public areas, as "bonuses" to get around building code limitations, such as the height. There is an observation deck on the 73rd floor.
The tower was originally named the Columbia Center when it was first built. The name was later changed to Columbia Seafirst Center, for Seafirst Bank, and then to the Bank of America Tower, when Seafirst, which had been owned by Bank of America since 1983, was fully integrated into BofA. The building's new name has given it the nickname "BOAT" (Bank of America Tower).
On June 16, 2004, the 9-11 Commission reported that the original plan for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks called for the hijacking of ten planes, one of which was to be crashed into the Bank of America Tower.
See Also: 50 Tallest buildings in the U.S., List of skyscrapers
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