To spot Rainier Square Tower, just look straight ahead for a dramatic, super-tall building with a sloping base that seems to stretch thinner as it climbs into the clouds-a true standout on the Seattle skyline!
Alright, you’re standing face-to-face with Rainier Square Tower-the pride of Union Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Take a moment to look up. Go on, I promise your neck will forgive you! Imagine you’re in a city that loves to stack its buildings tall, but this one, well, it’s doing its own thing. It starts out chunky at the bottom, almost hugging the ground, before stretching up and getting skinnier like it’s on a skyscraper diet plan. That’s no accident-it’s designed to keep the views open for the quirky pedestal base of the neighboring Rainier Tower, which, by the way, looks like a giant vase from certain angles. But more about that later...
Back in 2013, the University of Washington looked out over the old Rainier Square shopping mall and thought, “Hmm, we can do something way cooler.” The mall was nothing special-just another boxy structure from the ‘70s, eating up three-fourths of this block. The university had been toying with ideas for years, even flirting with a massive hotel project in 2000, but those plans were mothballed. Various developers circled the space, pencils behind ears and big dreams in their pockets. But in 2014, Wright Runstad won the golden ticket to transform the property. An early blueprint had the tower at 800 feet-but then, like a kid stacking blocks, they decided, “Why not taller?” so they added more luxury apartments and stretched it to a dizzying 850 feet.
When the city green-lit the plans in December 2015, the countdown to demolition began-cue the rumble of excavators. The old shopping center closed in 2017, and the skyline readied itself for something spectacular. For a while, Amazon was supposed to take over the office space-722,000 square feet!-but then, as Seattle legends go, they chose to keep their options open and started subleasing to other firms who wanted a slice of this glassy cake. Russell Investments jumped on board in 2024, ready to move their headquarters here. You never know who you’ll bump into in the elevator-techies, traders, maybe even a lost tourist like yourself.
The architects at NBBJ brought in a twist-a “radical” steel plate system instead of the old rebar-and-concrete setup, which meant floors went up so fast it probably made other construction sites jealous. I like to picture a game of speed-building, where each new story clinks into place. Down below, 1,000 cars can hide in six levels of underground parking-Seattle’s answer to a magician’s disappearing act.
Rainier Square Tower isn’t just a place to work or live. It’s got a fitness club in the retail space, a PCC Community Market that opened and left, but a coffee roaster and a restaurant found their home. There were plans for an Equinox hotel, but instead a ten-story office building popped up next door, topped with a rooftop deck for those dramatic Seattle sunsets.
So next time you spot that sloping silhouette, remember: you’re staring at the city’s second-tallest, a vertical village built on dreams, demolition dust, and the faint hope of finding a prime parking spot. Ready to keep moving, skyscraper explorer?
