Design
Columbia Center was designed by Washington architect Chester L. Lindsey. The base of the building is clad in Rosa Purino Carnelian granite. The building's structure is composed of three geometric concave facades with two setbacks, causing the building to appear like three towers standing side by side.
Ground level elevation on the Fifth Avenue side of the building is higher than on the Fourth Avenue side; the part of Cherry Street it faces was identified as one of the steepest streets in the Central Business District with a slope of 17.1%. The tower was originally designed to be about 306.5 m (1,006 ft), but federal regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would not allow it to be that tall so close to the nearby Sea-Tac Airport. Although city land use regulations at the time were intended to limit skyscrapers to about 50 stories, the developer, Martin Selig, obtained the necessary permits for a 76-story skyscraper due to a part of the law that allowed bonus height for providing retail space with street access. Because three separate stories could access the street on the sloped site, the developers were allowed a bonus for each of the three stories they set aside for retail, which was reportedly an unintended loophole in the law. There is an observation deck on the 73rd floor which offers views of Seattle and environs. The top two floors of the building (75th and 76th) are occupied by the private Columbia Tower Club, which houses a restaurant, bar, library, and meeting rooms. An underground concourse connects the building to the nearby Seattle Municipal Tower and Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza.
The tower, originally proposed as Columbia Center, opened under the name Columbia Seafirst Center after its largest tenant and financier, Seafirst Bank, and then to the Bank of America Tower, when Seafirst, which had been owned by Bank of America since 1983, was fully integrated into Bank of America. That name gave it the nickname "BOAT" (Bank of America Tower). In November 2005, the building's name was changed back to Columbia Center after the bank reduced its presence in the building. Bank of America still maintains office space within the building, including a bank branch.
Columbia Center plays host to the largest firefighter competition in the world. About 1,300 firefighters from around the world yearly make the trek up 69 floors and 1,311 steps wearing their full firefighter gear. This event benefits the local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.
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