List of tallest buildings in Seattle

Seattle is the biggest city in the U.S state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It has many tall buildings, with 53 that are over 400 feet (122 meters) high. Among these, 21 buildings rise more than 500 feet (152 meters). The tallest building in Seattle is the 76-story Columbia Center, which stands at 937 feet (286 meters) and was finished in 1985. It is also the tallest building in the whole state of Washington.

The building boom in Seattle started in the late 1800s, helped by money from the Klondike Gold Rush and the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition. One of the first tall buildings was the Smith Tower, completed in 1914 and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River until 1931. The city's skyline grew slowly until the 1960s when the Century 21 Exposition brought new buildings, including the famous Space Needle in Seattle Center.

From the 1960s to the early 1990s, Seattle added many important buildings. The 1980s were especially busy, with the building of the city's third and fourth-tallest structures, 1201 Third Avenue and Two Union Square. After a slow period in the 1990s, building started again in the 2000s with the IDX Tower and WaMu Center. Recently, Seattle has seen lots of new tall buildings, especially around Denny Triangle after a big company moved there, and also in areas like South Lake Union and Belltown. The second tallest building, Rainier Square Tower, was finished in 2021.

Most of Seattle's tall buildings are in the downtown area, but there are also buildings in South Lake Union, First Hill, and the University District. Across Lake Washington in the city of Bellevue, there is another growing group of tall buildings.

History

See also: Architecture of Seattle

After a big fire in Seattle in 1889, the city started building new structures with fireproof materials. The Pioneer Building, finished in 1892, was one of the first modern high-rise buildings. Later, the Alaska Building, completed in 1904, became Seattle’s first skyscraper.

In the 1910s and 1920s, more tall buildings were built, like the Smith Tower, which was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River when it opened in 1914. After World War II, building slowed down but picked up again in the 1960s with the Space Needle, built for a world’s fair. The Seafirst Building, finished in 1969, became the city’s tallest for a time.

In the 1980s, many new tall buildings went up, including the Columbia Center, which was the tallest in Seattle until new ones were built. Today, Seattle continues to grow with new tall buildings in areas like the Denny Triangle and South Lake Union.

Cityscape

Seattle is the biggest city in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest area of North America. It has a population of over 4 million people in its surrounding areas. The city has 53 very tall buildings that are higher than 400 feet (122 meters), and 21 of these buildings are even taller than 500 feet (152 meters). Because of these tall buildings, Seattle has one of the most noticeable city views on the West Coast of the United States and the biggest skyline in the Northwestern United States.

Tallest buildings

This list shows the tallest buildings in Seattle, Washington. It includes buildings that are at least 400 feet (122 meters) tall. The list counts the height of the building’s architecture, like spires, but not things added on top like antennas. The year each building was finished is also listed. Some very tall observation towers are shown too, but they are not counted as buildings you can live or work in.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Purpose
1	Columbia Center		937 (285.7)	76	1984	Office
2	Rainier Square Tower		847 (258.2)	58	2020	Mixed-use
3	1201 Third Avenue		772 (235.3)	55	1988	Office
4	Two Union Square		740 (225.6)	56	1989	Office
5	Seattle Municipal Tower		720 (220)	57	1990	Office
6	F5 Tower		646 (196.8)	41	2017	Mixed-use
7	Safeco Plaza		630 (192)	50	1969	Office
8	U.S. Bank Center		606 (184.8)	44	1989	Office
—	Space Needle[C]		605 (184.4)	5	1962	Observation
9	Russell Investments Center		598 (182.2)	42	2006	Office
10	Docusign Tower		574 (175)	47	1983	Office
11	Madison Centre		560 (170.7)	36	2017	Office
12	800 Fifth Avenue		543 (165.5)	42	1981	Office
13	901 Fifth Avenue		536 (163.4)	41	1973	Office
14	Qualtrics Tower		527 (160.6)	36	2019	Office
15	Doppler		524 (159.7)	37	2016	Office
16	Day 1		521 (158.8)	37	2017	Office
17	Hyatt Regency Seattle		520 (158.5)	45	2018	Hotel
	re:Invent		520 (158.5)	37	2019	Office
19	Rainier Tower		514 (156.7)	31	1977	Office
20	Fourth and Madison Building		512 (156.1)	40	2003	Office
21	1918 Eighth Avenue		500 (152.4)	37	2009	Office
22	1000 Second Avenue		493 (150.3)	40	1986	Office
23	Henry M. Jackson Federal Building		487 (148.4)	37	1974	Office
24	1600 Seventh Avenue		484 (147.5)	33	1976	Office
25	The Ayer	–	484 (147.5)	46	2023	Residential
26	The Ivey on Boren	–	475 (144.8)	44	2022	Residential
27	Smith Tower		462 (140.8)	38	1914	Mixed-use
28	One Union Square		456 (139)	36	1981	Office
29	Olive 8		455 (138.7)	39	2009	Mixed-use
30	1111 Third Avenue		454 (138.4)	34	1980	Office
31	Westin Seattle North Tower		449 (137)	47	1982	Hotel
32	Premiere on Pine		444 (135.3)	39	2015	Residential
33	AMLI Arc		442 (134.7)	37	2017	Mixed-use
34	Nexus		442 (134.6)	41	2020	Residential
35	Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue		440 (134.1)	38	2008	Residential
36	Cirrus		440 (134.1)	41	2015	Residential
37	Kiara		440 (134.1)	40	2018	Residential
38	Stratus		440 (134.1)	41	2018	Residential
39	West Edge Tower		440 (134.1)	39	2018	Residential
40	Arrivé		440 (134.1)	41	2019	Mixed-use
41	Modern		440 (134.1)	36	2020	Mixed-use
42	Spire		440 (134.1)	41	2021	Residential
43	Ren		440 (134.1)	41	2022	Residential
44	Insignia South Tower		440 (134)	41	2015	Residential
45	Insignia North Tower		440 (134)	41	2016	Residential
46	Helios		440 (134)	40	2017	Residential
47	Kinects		440 (134)	40	2017	Residential
48	The Emerald		439 (133.7)	40	2020	Residential
49	McKenzie Apartments		434 (132.4)	41	2018	Residential
50	OSLU North Tower		426 (129.9)	43	2022	Residential
51	OSLU South Tower		414 (126.3)	43	2022	Residential
52	Westin Building		409 (124.7)	34	1981	Office
53	Aspira		407 (124)	37	2010	Residential

Tallest under construction

Seattle has ten tall buildings that are currently being built. These buildings are expected to grow taller than 400 feet (122 meters), but they are not finished yet.

Timeline of tallest buildings

Seattle has many tall buildings, and some of them were the tallest for a time before newer ones were built. The list shows which buildings were the tallest in Seattle at different times. The Space Needle is very tall and was the tallest structure in the city from 1961 to 1969, but it is not counted as a building, so it is not on this list.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors
Pioneer Building		612 1st Avenue	1892–1904 (12 years)	110 (34)[D]	6
Alaska Building		618 2nd Avenue	1904–1906 (2 years)	203 (62)	14
King Street Station Tower		303 South Jackson Street	1906–1914 (8 years)	245 (75)	8
Smith Tower		506 2nd Avenue	1914–1969 (55 years)	489 (149)	38
Safeco Plaza		1001 4th Avenue	1969–1985 (16 years)	630 (192)	50
Columbia Center		701 5th Avenue	1985–present	937 (286)	76