William L. Pereira and Harry D. Som designed the tower, with Dinwiddie Construction as contractor. Construction began in December 1969, and the first tenants moved in during the summer of 1972. The original cost was 32 million dollars. An original proposal of 1,150 feet (350 m) was rejected over concerns about blocking views from Nob Hill.
The tower has 48 floors and 499,000 square feet (46,400 m²). The roof is 853 feet (260 m) high, and the top 212 feet (65 m) is a hollow spire. It is a four-sided pyramid with two wings: the east wing holds elevator shafts, and the west wing holds a stairwell and smoke evacuation tower. The facade is covered in crushed quartz.
The foundation is 9 feet (2.7 m) thick and was poured continuously over about three days. It was the tallest building in San Francisco until Salesforce Tower, and it was sold in 2020 for 650 million dollars.
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