PNC Center (formerly National City Center) is a
skyscraper located in
downtown Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
at the northwest corner of
Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street. The building has 35 stories and rises to a height of , and was designed by
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer John Merrill. The fir ...
. Construction on the building was finished in 1980. It served as the headquarters for the now defunct
National City Corporation
National City Corporation was a regional bank holding company based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, founded in 1845; it was once one of the ten largest banks in America in terms of deposits, mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Subsidiary Nat ...
, and is now the Cleveland-area offices for
PNC Financial Services.
History
In 1975, National City Bank had many of its office functions scattered in Downtown Cleveland. National City almost had moved from Downtown Cleveland to a suburban location but opted to remain in Downtown Cleveland.
In 1977, National City announced plans for a new corporate headquarters in Downtown Cleveland. The cost was set at $50 million.
Tax abatement
A tax holiday is a temporary reduction or elimination of a tax. It is synonymous with tax abatement, tax subsidy or tax reduction. Governments usually create tax holidays as incentives for business investment. Tax relief can be provided in the ...
, then a new form of financing, was used in its construction. Tax Abatement started in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
under then Mayor
Abraham Beame to spur growth in New York City after its default in 1975. Tax Abatement is used to cut property taxes to develop a property. In 1976, then Cleveland Mayor
Ralph Perk
Ralph Joseph Perk (January 19, 1914 – April 21, 1999) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 52nd mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
Early life
Born to an ethnic Czech American family in Cleveland, Perk dropped out o ...
brought NYC's idea to Cleveland. In 1977, National City Bank became the first Cleveland company and project to use tax abatement.
The site of National City was a complex one. The site had the old
Bond Clothing Store
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...
complex (1947–49) and before that was the Hickox Building (1874–1947). There was an adult movie house that showed X-rated movies named the Roxy. These buildings were demolished in 1978 and construction began for the tower.
The National City Bank Tower rises from a seven-foot pad of concrete. The tower itself was not built with steel, instead it became Cleveland's tallest reinforced concrete structure. A floor was poured and jacked up 1 floor a week. The skin of the National City Bank Tower is a White
Travertine Marble
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...
. During the day, National City Bank is whitish in color. At night, National City is bathed in light. During October, it is bathed in pink light for National Breast Cancer month which National City Bank sponsors research in.
When the Tower opened in 1980, National City occupied the tower as its own. Other tenants include
KPMG
KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
, and several law firms, including
Baker Hostetler
BakerHostetler is an American law firm founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I, and former Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
History
, the firm was ranked the 73rd-largest law firm in ...
.
A
kinetic sculpture by
George Rickey
George Warren Rickey (June 6, 1907 – July 17, 2002) was an American kinetic sculptor.
Early life and education
Rickey was born on June 6, 1907, in South Bend, Indiana. When Rickey was still a child, his father, an executive with Singer S ...
named ''Triple L Excentric Gyratory III'' sits outside the building.
In August 2009,
PNC Financial Services replaced the National City sign atop of the building with its own, following the
acquisition of National City by PNC in late 2008.
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Cleveland
Cleveland, the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio, is home to 142 completed high-rises, 36 of which stand taller than . The tallest building in Cleveland is the 57-story Key Tower, which rises on Public Square. The tower has be ...
Further reading
*Toman, James. ''Cleveland's Changing Skyline'', Cleveland Landmark Press, 1984, Cleveland
References
External links
ClevelandSkyscrapers.com
{{PNC Financial Services Group
Skyscraper office buildings in Cleveland
Office buildings completed in 1980
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings