Look up ahead for a tall, white rectangular tower with long, narrow windows, and striking slate panels running down its sides-the Union Bank Tower stands boldly on the corner, impossible to miss!
Welcome to the Union Bank Tower! Now, before you ask, yes-it’s wearing its International Style like a well-tied necktie, crisp and confident. Back when this building first pierced the Portland skyline in 1969, it was the city’s tallest for-wait for it-about the lifespan of a good sandwich. Not long after, the Georgia-Pacific Building outgrew it, but for a brief, shining moment, this was Portland’s king of the clouds.
Picture the late 1960s: the Beatles are on the radio, bell-bottoms are taking over the sidewalks, and downtown Portland is itching for something bold. The Bank of California, having outgrown its earlier home just a block east, decides to shoot for the stars-or at least, 15 stories higher. The full block where the tower now sits used to be a lively spot, with the charming Rosenblatt Building and two theaters, the United Artists and the Liberty. Imagine the clatter of demolition in 1967, the theaters going dark, the old buildings making way for something modern and utterly different: a place not just to stash your cash, but to look the future straight in the eye.
Designed by San Francisco’s Anshen and Allen, the Union Bank Tower oozes International Style flair. My favorite little architectural secret? The exposed service cores-those towers-within-the-tower that you see on the south and west faces. They’re covered in light gray slate stone that’s got a hint of green, and rumor has it, this slate was quarried from the very hills in Wales that once sent stones all the way to Stonehenge. That’s right-this bank isn’t just holding Portland’s money, it’s practically holding ancient treasures too!
Now, step inside, and you’d be greeted by another bit of big-city imagination. The interiors were the work of Maria Bergson from New York, whose taste helped make it a stylish home for Portland’s power suits and secretaries. When the tower opened its doors in December 1969, the sense of ambition must have felt electric-after all, this wasn’t just another boxy office building. It was the new home of banking in the Northwest.
The Bank of California ran the show until the early ‘70s, when the celebrated developer Harry Mittleman snapped up the building. For years, the bank and Mittleman’s business danced side by side. The bank’s name changed a few times-first merging with Union Bank in 1996, eventually joining the banking world’s own Game of Thrones, becoming part of the giant MUFG Union Bank. Through mergers and rebrands, one thing is certain: this tower has weathered decades of financial storms, learned new names, and still stands steadfast on Broadway.
Nowadays, the building is co-owned by Melvin Mark Companies and Downtown Development Group, and it even boasts four levels of underground parking-a far cry from the days when carriages parked outside the old Rosenblatt Building.
So as you gaze up at those endless windows and elegant white lines, imagine all the stories inside-deals struck, careers made, secrets whispered in the elevator-and maybe, just maybe, a banker or two trying to spot Stonehenge magic in those slate walls.
