1200 Fifth, formerly the IBM Building, is a 20-story office building in the Metropolitan Tract, part of downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The building was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who also was architect of Rainier Tower on the corner diagonally opposite, and the World Trade Center in New York City. Construction on the building began in May 1963 and it was completed in October 1964.
Nard Jones wrote in 1972 that "There is an architectural poetry about [the building] that is at variance with the endless jibes at computerization and the alleged sober pragmatism of IBM personnel." The building's crown has a series of 191 "fins" that measure 23 feet (7.0 m) tall and surround the machinery floors.
The corner of the complex at 5th Avenue and University Street was the site of the Seattle Ice Arena from 1915 to 1963.
References
External links
- Media related to IBM Tower, Seattle at Wikimedia Commons
- Building profile at Unico Properties
