The U.S. Bancorp Tower (also known as the Big Pink) is a 42-story,
skyscraper in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
. It is the second tallest building in the city after
Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to:
*Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California
*Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California
* Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California
* Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California
* Wells Fargo Cen ...
, and with its nearly office space, it is the largest in
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
in terms of volume.
History
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 ...
(SOM) with
Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi (August 18, 1899 – February 14, 1994) was an Italian-American architect. A leading figure in modern architecture, he was responsible for the design of over 1,000 buildings.Belluschi, Pietro. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannic ...
as the consultant, the tower cost $60 million to construct. Ground was broken on May 29, 1981,
[Brennan, Tom (May 30, 1981). "U.S. Bancorp begins 'staggering' tower". ''The Oregonian'', p. C7.] and the building was largely completed in June 1983.
[Cour, Brian (July 24, 1986). "PacifiCorp units lease 2 floors in bank tower". ''The Oregonian'', p. F13.] It was dedicated on December 1, 1983.
The tower adjoins U.S. Bank Plaza at 555 SW Oak Street, a 7-story, building constructed in 1974.
["New office buildings take place on downtown skyline, boost economy". (March 24, 1975). ''The Oregonian'', p. G2.] A tower expected to rise about 37 stories was already part of the bank's long-term site plans at that earlier date,
but that phase of the plans ended up being delayed until the 1980s.
Originally, 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
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. As of 2004, U.S. Bancorp had leased until 2015.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the top floors held the headquarters of
Louisiana-Pacific
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, commonly known as "LP", is an American 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 (OSB) panels ...
.
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 has been cited as the restaurant with the best view in Portland.
In 2000, the U.S. Bancorp Tower was sold for a price of $165 million to a partnership of three firms:
Unico Properties,
JPMorgan
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the w ...
and Wafra Investment Advisory Group.
In 2004, a majority stake in the tower was acquired by California-based Broadreach Capital Partners LLC, which bought-out JPMorgan and Wafra,
[ but Unico continued to own 25 percent.][
In August 2006, a majority stake in the building was purchased by "institutional investors advised by JPMorgan Asset Management"]LaSalle Investment Management
LaSalle Investment Management ("LaSalle") is a real estate investment management firm. It is an independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a real estate financial and professional services company.
LaSalle manages capital for institut ...
purchased a majority stake in the building from Unico Properties; the building had an estimated value of $285 million at the time. LaSalle sold their stake in 2015, to TPF Equity REIT that is majority-owned by UBS.[
]
Design
Perhaps the most unusual features of the U.S. Bancorp Tower 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. Because of the street grid, the tower features no right angles in its parallelogram footprint. This, in turn, makes it look either extremely slender or wide depending upon one's viewing angle.glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...
and granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
for the exterior facing. The pink granite covering the building was quarried in Spain. The Pittsburgh Plate Glass
PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By revenue it is ...
used for the windows is also pink, an effect caused by its being "glazed in a semitransparent coating of copper and silver that looks pink from the outside".[
In October 2019, the building achieved the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum certification for environmental sustainability from the ]U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...
.
See also
* List of tallest buildings in Portland, Oregon
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References
External links
{{Commons category
KATU webcam from the top of the building
Pietro Belluschi buildings
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings
Office buildings completed in 1983
Skyscraper office buildings in Portland, Oregon
U.S. Bank buildings
Bank company headquarters in the United States
Bank buildings in Oregon
1983 establishments in Oregon
Southwest Portland, Oregon
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certified buildings