Salesforce Tower (Indianapolis)

Salesforce Tower (formerly known as Bank One Tower, then Chase Tower, and originally conceived as American Fletcher Tower) is the tallest building in the U.S. state of Indiana.[1][2] Opening in 1990, it surpassed the AUL Tower (now OneAmerica Tower) in Indianapolis for the distinction. The building's twin spires' are 811 feet (247 m) tall, while the 48 floors of office and retail space and 2 building equipment floors above that peak at the 701-foot (214 m) roof. It is the regional headquarters of Salesforce, which moved into the tower in the late-2010s and currently occupies a large amount of space in the building. While the tower has two spires of equal height, only one of them is functional as a transmission antenna. The other mast is merely an architectural decoration.[3] The building was designed by KlingStubbins, and built by Indianapolis-based Huber Hunt & Nichols.[4]

"Bank One Tower" redirects here. For the former headquarters of Bank One in Columbus, Ohio, see Columbus Center (Ohio).
Salesforce Tower
Former names
  • Bank One Tower (1990–2004)
  • Chase Tower (2005–2017)
General information
TypeOffice
Location111 Monument Circle
Indianapolis, Indiana,
United States
Coordinates39°46′11″N 86°9′26″W
Completed1990
Height
Antenna spire811 ft (247 m)
Roof701 ft (214 m)
Top floor625 ft (191 m)
Technical details
Floor count48
Floor area905,158 sq ft (84,092 m2)
Lifts/elevators31
Design and construction
Architect(s)KlingStubbins
Website
www.salesforcetowerindy.com
References
"Chase Tower". SkyscraperPage.

The tower's step pyramidal cap reflects the design of the Indiana War Memorial, three blocks due north. The War Memorial, in turn, reflects the descriptions of the original Mausoleum. Because of the height of this building, its roof was specifically designed to house communications relay equipment, in order to provide additional revenue to the building's owners. Over the past several years, two large banners have occasionally been placed outside the north and south communication bullpen areas of the roof in support of two of the city's professional sports franchises. These "Go Pacers" and "Go Colts" signs are highly visible being on the tallest structure in the city.

Observation deck

The tower has no official observation deck. However, views of Monument Circle and the immediate downtown area can be seen from floors 2 and 7 in the common areas on the Circle side of the complex. In 2017, electronic turnstiles were implemented in the tower as a security measure. In turn, the elevators are no longer accessible by the public. However, Visitors Passes can be attained from the Security Desk in both the Circle and Tower-side lobbies. The tower can be seen from various spots around greater Indianapolis.[2]

Background and history

The tower was originally conceived in the late 1970s by Frank E. McKinney, Jr., chairman of American Fletcher Corporation, the holding company for American Fletcher National Bank and Trust Company (AFNB), which at the time was Indiana's largest financial institution, to allow for consolidation and expansion of his company's headquarters.[5] Land was slowly being assembled for the building, with several predecessor structures along Ohio Street and Pennsylvania Street being demolished in those years and the early 1980s to clear the way for what McKinney hoped would soon be Indiana's tallest office tower.

Before construction of the building began, American Fletcher became the first major Indianapolis bank holding company to be sold to an out-of-state financial institution, agreeing in the spring of 1986 to merge with Ohio's rapidly growing Banc One Corporation.[6] Upon consummation of that merger, Mr. McKinney became chairman of Bank One's Indiana operations and tower planning picked up momentum. Ground was broken and construction began in June 1987 on the newly designated Bank One Center Tower which was to be integrated with AFNB's existing headquarters complex on Monument Circle and adjacent Market Street.[3]

This was done mainly to secure the prestigious Monument Circle address for the new tower, which rises between Ohio Street and Wabash Street (the east-west alley between Market and Ohio). Thus, the Ohio Street entrance to the tower is the complex's back door with a concourse-style passageway on the second level running over Scioto Street (the north-south alley between Pennsylvania and Meridian) to connect the skyscraper (and its attached parking garage along Pennsylvania Street) to the main entrance in the original 1960 American National Bank Building at 111 Monument Circle.

A separate skywalk across Scioto once connected the Circle Building to the adjacent Fletcher Trust Building at 10 E. Market Street, but that was later removed after the bank moved all operations formerly located in that structure into the new tower. The Fletcher Trust Building itself was subsequently sold and has since been renovated into a Hilton Garden Inn hotel. Banc One Corporation (later renamed Bank One Corporation) went through several additional major acquisitions before it was itself bought by J.P. Morgan Chase in the early 2000s. Upon consummation of that merger, the Indianapolis structure was renamed to become known as the Chase Tower, but Chase was not allowed to attach its name and logo to the top of the building until 2013 after the building changed owners.[7]

On May 6, 2016, Salesforce announced plans to lease hundreds of thousands of square feet in the building and start moving employees there in early 2017. The building has since been rebranded as Salesforce Tower Indianapolis.[8]

See also

Notes
  1. "Indy's American Fletcher Agrees to Merge with Banc One of Ohio". Fort Wayne News Sentinel. May 8, 1986. The parent company of Indiana's largest bank has agreed to become part of Ohio's second-largest bank company. Officials of American Fletcher Corp. of Indianapolis and Banc One Corp. of Columbus, Ohio, said Wednesday the stock-swap deal was valued at $597.3 million, or about $60 a share of American Fletcher stock. The price paid is the highest so far for any Indiana bank, experts said. The Indianapolis bank will join Banc One, one of the Midwest's largest bank companies. Banc One has assets of more than $11 billion. American Fletcher's assets total $4.1 billion. American Fletcher will change its name to Banc One, Indiana Corp. and will gain a role in the management of the parent company. As part of the agreement, American Fletcher Chairman Frank E. McKinney Jr. will become president of the Ohio-based company. John B. McCoy, now Banc One president, will become chairman and chief executive officer. McKinney and two other directors of American Fletcher will be added to the Columbus-based company's board of directors. The two additional directors have not been named.
  2. McCutcheon, Matt (June 24, 2017). "Salesforce Tower tour: A look inside Indiana's tallest building". WTHR. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  3. "Salesforce Tower". Emporis. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  4. "Salesforce Tower & Circle Building". www.hertzgroup.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  5. "Hamilton County banking suddenly is "Big 3" game". The Indianapolis Star. September 12, 1985. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com. It's getting harder to tell the difference between banks in Hamilton County and Indianapolis. Two county banks have agreed to be acquired by members of the Indianapolis "Big Three." Another is controlled by the Frenzel family, which runs another large Indianapolis institution, Merchants National Bank. "It will become very much like Marion County," Frank E. McKinney Jr., chairman of American Fletcher Corp., says of Hamilton County. The Indianapolis bank firm is the latest to enter the Hamilton market reaching a pact on Aug. 30 to buy Carmel Bank and Trust Co... Since the early 1970s, the major Indianapolis banks Merchants, American Fletcher and Indiana national banks have looked toward Hamilton County... Carmel Bank & Trust Co. $17.8 million in assets agreed to be acquired by American Fletcher Corp... In the meantime, Carmel Bank the county's smallest bank with about $17.8 million in assets intends to start branches as well. The bank currently has only its main office in Carmel. American Fletcher's McKinney adds that results won't be dramatic.
  6. "American Fletcher Corp. and Banc One Corp. Monday completed..." United Press International. January 27, 1987. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  7. Schouten, Cory (December 18, 2013). "Chase attaches name to downtown's tallest building". Indianapolis Business Journal.
  8. Briggs, James (May 8, 2016). "Salesforce to rename Chase Tower, hire 800". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
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