Wells Fargo Center (Portland, Oregon)

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For other uses of "Wells Fargo Center", see Wells Fargo Center.
Wells Fargo Center

Wells Fargo Center (center) is slightly taller than the US Bancorp Tower (right).
Information
Location Portland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates 45°30′52″N 122°40′46″W / 45.514356, -122.679359Coordinates: 45°30′52″N 122°40′46″W / 45.514356, -122.679359
Status Complete
Constructed 1969-1972
Opening 1972
Use Office
Roof 546 feet (166.4 m)
Floor count 41
Companies
Architect Charles Luckman
Owner Wells Fargo

The Wells Fargo Center is an office building located in Portland, Oregon, United States. The tower rises 546 feet (166.4 m) with 40 floors of office space[1] and three levels of parking below the surface.[2] When the structure was completed in 1972, the center became the tallest building in the State of Oregon.

Contents

[edit] History

The building and a connected four-story building were designed by Charles Luckman and Associates. It was dedicated on May 25, 1972.[3] Originally known as the First National Center, the name was changed to the First Interstate Tower in 1981. The current name was adopted after Wells Fargo purchased First Interstate Bancorp in 1996.[4] Upon opening in 1972, the Wells Fargo Center dwarfed all other existing high-rise developments in downtown Portland. Public outcry over the tower's scale and the potential of new development to block views of Mount Hood led to height restrictions on all new development.

The public areas went under extensive renovation in 2001 including room for more retail space. Renovations were completed in 2002 at a cost of $35 million. Focused on the lobby area, it included the addition of a display on the bank's history.[5] The center had been the headquarters of Willamette Industries until 2003, when that company was bought by Weyerhaeuser.[6]

[edit] Details

The Wells Fargo Center contains the regional headquarters for Wells Fargo bank. The tower is located in Downtown Portland bounded by southwest 4th and 5th avenues between southwest Columbia and Jefferson streets.[3] A skyway connects the tower to an adjacent five story Data Processing Building which is also part of the Wells Fargo Center.[1] The 41 story building is the tallest building in Oregon.[7] The main bank lobby is home to an authentic 1870 Wells Fargo Stagecoach.

Architectural details include extensive use of marble. There is a total of 60,000 square feet of marble in the building, with the base utilizing 1/16 of an inch thick marble at the base.[3] The exterior of the building has columns of black glass separated by columns of white marble running the entire length of the building. The design of the building has been criticized for a variety of architectural issues.[8]

[edit] See also

Close up view
Close up view

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Building Information and Amenities. Wells Fargo Center. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  2. ^ Building Features and Amenities. Wells Fargo Center. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  3. ^ a b c Wells Fargo Center. Emporis North America. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  4. ^ Tankersley, Jim. The tall tale of Portland's two towers. The Oregonian, July 25, 1999.
  5. ^ Fehrenbacher, Gretchen. Building owners assn. honors industry standouts. Daily Journal of Commerce, January 30, 2002.
  6. ^ Stout, Heidi. Wells Fargo Center nabs KPMG for top floors. Portland Business Journal, July 3, 2003.
  7. ^ Rivera, Dylan. Downtown is growing up. The Oregonian, July 1, 2007.
  8. ^ Gragg, Randy. Corner Concerns: Portland could be the city of corners, its street life benefiting from its small downtown blocks. But the number of bad corners shows that there’s lots. The Oregonian, August 18, 2002.

[edit] External links

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