Rainier Tower

Rainier Tower is a 41-story office building at 1301 Fifth Avenue in downtown Seattle, designed by Minoru Yamasaki and completed in 1977. Its defining feature is the 11-story concrete pedestal beneath the wider tower: it narrows toward the ground, giving the building a distinctive inverted-pyramid shape and the impression that the upper floors are balanced above a smaller base. Walk to the nearby plaza at Fifth Avenue and University Street to look up at the structure and compare it with the IBM Building across the street.

The concrete pedestal

Rainier Tower stands at 1301 Fifth Avenue in Seattle’s Metropolitan Tract. Minoru Yamasaki designed the 41-story building, which was completed in 1977.

Its unusual form comes from the 11-story concrete pedestal beneath the wider tower. The pedestal tapers toward the ground, creating an inverted-pyramid profile. From nearby, look at how the broad upper building rises from this narrower base. The contrast is the detail that makes the tower easy to pick out among downtown’s more conventional rectangular buildings.

Where to view the tower

A plaza at the corner of Fifth Avenue and University Street gives you a place to pause and look up at Rainier Tower. The IBM Building is across the street, making it easy to see both buildings during the same stop.

Rainier Tower is an office building, not a public observation deck. The available information identifies its lobby and amenity areas, but does not establish that they are open to general visitors. Plan to appreciate the exterior from the surrounding streets and plaza.