US Bancorp Tower (Portland, Oregon)
Encyclopedia
US Bancorp Tower is the second tallest skyscraper
in Portland, Oregon
. It stands at 163.38 m (536 ft) with 42 floors. The building has nearly 69000 m² (82,523.3 sq yd) of office space inside, making it the largest office building in Oregon
in terms of volume, and the second tallest building in Oregon, with only the Wells Fargo Center
exceeding its height.
(SOM) with Pietro Belluschi
as a consultant. The tower opened in 1983 with construction costs of $128 million. At first the building served as the national headquarters
of U.S. Bancorp
, and was the regional headquarters of that organization until a 1997 merger moved the corporate offices to Minneapolis, Minnesota
. U.S. Bancorp has 480000 square feet (44,593.5 m²) leased until 2015.
Perhaps the most unusual features of the building are its shape and color. Pietro Belluschi was most concerned about the play of light and shadows on its surface; meanwhile, the SOM team had to work with a uniquely shaped lot due to the street grid. The meshing of these two concerns led to what has been called Portland's most dynamic building. Because of the street grid, the tower features no right angle
s in its parallelogram
footprint. This, in turn, makes it look either extremely slender or wide depending upon your viewing angle. Belluschi carefully selected the glass
and granite
for the exterior facing. The windows can absorb or reflect light depending upon how much light is upon them, while the surrounding granite may appear darker or lighter than the window pieces depending upon the time of day. The building can be described as being pink, orange, purple, or even gray all in the same day. The unusual pinkish color earned the building the nickname "Big Pink", after an album by The Band
.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the top floors held the headquarters of Louisiana-Pacific
.
Since a $4 million renovation in 2002, the 30th floor of the tower has been occupied by the Portland City Grill
, Portland's top-grossing restaurant. It is often cited as the restaurant with the best view in Portland.
The building was purchased by JPMorgan Asset Management in August 2006 for a price of $286 million. It was previously owned by Unico who purchased it in 2000 for a price of $165 million. Currently, 92% of the building is occupied.
On September 9, 2008, LaSalle Investment Management
entered a purchase partnership with Unico Properties for $285 million to acquire the building.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. It stands at 163.38 m (536 ft) with 42 floors. The building has nearly 69000 m² (82,523.3 sq yd) of office space inside, making it the largest office building in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in terms of volume, and the second tallest building in Oregon, with only the Wells Fargo Center
Wells Fargo Center (Portland, Oregon)
Wells Fargo Center is an office building located in Portland, Oregon, United States. The tower rises 546 feet with 40 floors of office space and three levels of parking below the surface...
exceeding its height.
Design
Designed by Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
(SOM) with Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi was an American architect, a leader of the Modern Movement in architecture, and was responsible for the design of over one thousand buildings....
as a consultant. The tower opened in 1983 with construction costs of $128 million. At first the building served as the national headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp is a diversified financial services holding company, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States based on $330 billion in assets. U.S. Bank ranks as the sixth largest bank in the U.S. based on...
, and was the regional headquarters of that organization until a 1997 merger moved the corporate offices to Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. U.S. Bancorp has 480000 square feet (44,593.5 m²) leased until 2015.
Perhaps the most unusual features of the building are its shape and color. Pietro Belluschi was most concerned about the play of light and shadows on its surface; meanwhile, the SOM team had to work with a uniquely shaped lot due to the street grid. The meshing of these two concerns led to what has been called Portland's most dynamic building. Because of the street grid, the tower features no right angle
Right angle
In geometry and trigonometry, a right angle is an angle that bisects the angle formed by two halves of a straight line. More precisely, if a ray is placed so that its endpoint is on a line and the adjacent angles are equal, then they are right angles...
s in its parallelogram
Parallelogram
In Euclidean geometry, a parallelogram is a convex quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite or facing sides of a parallelogram are of equal length and the opposite angles of a parallelogram are of equal measure...
footprint. This, in turn, makes it look either extremely slender or wide depending upon your viewing angle. Belluschi carefully selected the glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
for the exterior facing. The windows can absorb or reflect light depending upon how much light is upon them, while the surrounding granite may appear darker or lighter than the window pieces depending upon the time of day. The building can be described as being pink, orange, purple, or even gray all in the same day. The unusual pinkish color earned the building the nickname "Big Pink", after an album by The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the top floors held the headquarters of Louisiana-Pacific
Louisiana-Pacific
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation , commonly known as "LP", is a United States building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. LP pioneered the U.S. production of oriented strand board panels. Today, LP is the world’s largest producer of OSB, and...
.
Since a $4 million renovation in 2002, the 30th floor of the tower has been occupied by the Portland City Grill
Portland City Grill
Portland City Grill is a restaurant located on the 30th floor of the US Bancorp Tower in Portland, Oregon. Known for its happy hour and views of the city and surrounding landscape, Portland City Grill is often listed as a recommended restaurant to eat at in Portland.-History:For nearly two decades,...
, Portland's top-grossing restaurant. It is often cited as the restaurant with the best view in Portland.
The building was purchased by JPMorgan Asset Management in August 2006 for a price of $286 million. It was previously owned by Unico who purchased it in 2000 for a price of $165 million. Currently, 92% of the building is occupied.
On September 9, 2008, LaSalle Investment Management
LaSalle Investment Management
LaSalle Investment Management is a investment management firm specializing in real estate. The firm is unique within the industry in that it invests solely in real estate and no other asset class....
entered a purchase partnership with Unico Properties for $285 million to acquire the building.