Renaissance Tower
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The top of Renaissance Tower from the west |
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Renaissance Tower from its base, showing the glass-pyramid enclosed food court at the bottom. |
Renaissance Tower, located at 1201 Elm Street in
downtown Dallas,
Texas is a 56-story
modern-styled
skyscraper. Standing at a structural height of 270
m (886
ft), it is the second tallest skyscraper in Dallas. (If one were to exclude antennas and spires, Renaissance Tower is currently the fifth tallest building in Dallas.) It is also the
fifth tallest building in
Texas and the
21st tallest building in the
United States. The building was designed by the architectural firm
Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, completed in
1974, and renovated in
1986.
At the time of completion in 1974, it was the tallest building in Dallas at 216 m (710 ft). In
1985, it was surpassed by
Fountain Place and
Bank of America Plaza, which became Dallas' tallest building by far. It was also clear that Renaissance Tower would be overtaken by two other buildings under construction (
Bank One Center and
JPMorgan Chase Tower). Therefore, in order to regain some status, the building underwent a major renovation in
1986 which re-glassed the exterior of the building and placed several decorative steelwork towers on top, one of which was 54 m (176 ft) tall. This brought the structural height of the building up to 270 m (886 ft), securing its place as the second tallest building in Dallas. (However, if one were to exclude antennas and spires, the Renaissance Tower is currently the fifth tallest building in Dallas.)
At the base of the building, there is a glass-pyramid structure that houses an underground food court. The food court connects to other nearby structures with tunnels. Renaissance Tower also currently houses the corporate headquarters of
Blockbuster.
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Tallest buildings in Texas*
Tallest buildings in the United States
