Chester Lindsey designed the tower for the developer Martin Selig, with Magnusson Klemencic Associates as structural engineer. Construction began in 1982, it was completed on January 12, 1985, and it opened on March 2, 1985. The original design was about 1,006 feet (306.5 m), but the FAA rejected that height because of Sea-Tac Airport.
It has 76 stories and an architectural height of 933 feet (284 m), and it has been the tallest building in Seattle and Washington state since 1985. Three concave facades with two setbacks look like three towers side by side, and the base is clad in granite. It has about 1.5 million square feet of floor area and 48 elevators.
Zoning rules aimed at limiting towers to about 50 stories, but a bonus provision for street-level retail on a sloping site allowed 76. The controversy helped lead to the 1989 Citizen's Alternative Plan. The Sky View Observatory is on the 73rd floor.
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