1600 Seventh is a 32-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

, skyscraper in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, United States. Designed by

John Graham & Company John Graham & Company, or John Graham & Associates was the name of an architectural firm, founded in 1900 in Seattle, Washington, by English-born architect John Graham (1873–1955), and maintained by his son John Graham Jr. (1908–1991). The f ...

, it was completed in 1976; as of 2022, it is the 22nd-tallest building in the city. Originally built as the headquarters of Pacific Northwest Bell, it was first known as the Pacific Northwest Bell Building during construction and subsequently as 1600 Bell Plaza upon opening; it was later known as Bell Plaza and Qwest Plaza under

US West US West, Inc. (stylized as US WEST) was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement (''United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc.'' 552 ...

and

Qwest Qwest Communications International, Inc. was a United States telecommunications carrier. Qwest provided local service in 14 western and midwestern U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dako ...

ownership.

History

Pacific Northwest Bell had used as many as 12 buildings in Seattle to serve the city and its surrounding area since the 1920s. Owing to the rapid growth in the region, the company elected to consolidate its headquarters in one location. In the wake of the 1973–1975 recession, the main architects, John Graham & Company, elected to design the building with an emphasis on

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

; it stood in stark contrast to the nearby

Seafirst Building Safeco Plaza (formerly known as 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza, the Seafirst Building, and the Seattle-First National Bank Building) is a 50-story skyscraper in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. Designed by the Naramore, Bain, Brady, and ...

, which was built during the previous decade. The

Hoffman Construction Company Hoffman Construction Company is a privately held construction founded in 1922. It is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It also has an office location in Seattle. With a revenue of US$1.4 billion in FY2017, Hoffman was the 4th largest privatel ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, was selected on December 5, 1973, as the

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

for the building. Other bidders for the project included Baugh Construction, H. A. Anderson Construction, Howard S. Wright Construction, and Peter Kiewit Sons'. The building was

topped off In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...

in July 1975; however, the company elected to forgo a ceremony due to perception concerns in light of a then-recent rate increase proposal that was to add $64 million in revenue. The building was dedicated on November 22, 1976, in a ceremony featuring then-

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Dan Evans and various politicians and business leaders as well as

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

, the actor who portrayed

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

in the 1939 biographical film about him; the total cost of construction was estimated at $40 million. A naming contest for the building resulted in the selection of "1600 Bell Plaza", proposed by company employee Bev Ardueser, from 2,000 entries. Qwest reduced its presence in the building to half-occupancy in 2008 as part of consolidation plans. That same year, the company listed the property for sale; a tentative deal with an unknown buyer fell through amid the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

. In April 2012, a year after acquiring

Qwest Communications Qwest Communications International, Inc. was a United States telecommunications carrier. Qwest provided local service in 14 western and midwestern U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dako ...

CenturyLink Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...

sold the building to New York real estate investment firm Clarion Partners for $137 million. Clarion is now leasing lower-level floors to CenturyLink and

WeWork WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated of space, including in the United States and Canada, in 756 locatio ...

. Floors 4-6 and 16–32 are occupied by

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...

, and the ground floor holds retail establishments. CenturyLink's NW Regional President, Brian Stading issued a statement saying that the tower was not a fundamental component of their business strategy. Seattle real estate company, The Urban Renaissance Group, represented Clarion in the sale and will operate the building for the new owner.

References

{{Seattle skyscrapers Office buildings completed in 1976 Skyscraper office buildings in Seattle Lumen Technologies 1976 establishments in Washington (state)

History

See also

References