Key Bank Center
Encyclopedia
Key Bank Center, formerly the Puget Sound National Bank Building, is a 16 floor high-rise in Tacoma, Washington
. When completed as the National Realty Building in 1911, the 71 m (232.9 ft) tower was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River
until surpassed by Seattle's Smith Tower
in 1914.
The tower, with marble
quarried in Alaska
, was designed by Frederick Heath
.
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
. When completed as the National Realty Building in 1911, the 71 m (232.9 ft) tower was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
until surpassed by Seattle's Smith Tower
Smith Tower
Smith Tower is a skyscraper in Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington. Completed in 1914, the 38 storey, tower is the oldest skyscraper in the city and was the tallest office building west of the Mississippi River until the Kansas City Power & Light Building was built in 1931...
in 1914.
The tower, with marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
quarried in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, was designed by Frederick Heath
Frederick Heath (architect)
Frederick Heath was an American architect responsible for numerous projects in Tacoma, Washington. He worked out of his own office and as a senior partner at architectural firms. He was involved with Spaulding, Russell & Heath , and Heath & Gove...
.
External links
- Images from 1926 at the Tacoma Public LibraryTacoma Public LibraryThe Tacoma Public Library system serves residents of Tacoma, Washington. It operates ten library branches, which include a central library in downtown Tacoma, two regional locations in north and south Tacoma, and in seven neighborhoods. The Tacoma library has nearly 150,000 registered users, and...
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