Two Wells Fargo Center
| Two Wells Fargo Center | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 325 South Tryon Street Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
| Construction started | 1968 |
| Completed | 1971 |
| Opening | 1971 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 433 ft (132 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 32 |
Two Wells Fargo Center is a 433 feet (132 m) skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was completed in 1971 and has 32 floors. LaBella Associates, formerly known as Pease Engineering and Architecture, designed the building. David Julian Moore was the architect on-site functioning as construction administrator. It surpassed the Winston Tower in Winston-Salem as the tallest building in North Carolina, and in 1974 was passed by Bank of America Plaza. It is currently the 13th tallest building in Charlotte. In May 2006, it was repainted from beige to gray to complement the renovated color scheme at the neighboring Wachovia Main.
When completed, this building was called Jefferson First Union Tower.[1] Later, it was called First Union Plaza. First Union still owned the 12-story building on Tryon Street that Union National Bank (later First Union) built as a 9-story headquarters in 1954. In 1985, First Union bought the Masonic Temple and several other buildings, giving the bank the entire block. Later in the decade, the bank demolished the buildings that it bought but saved the temple façade. A park went on the site.[2][3] When First Union employees began moving into the new headquarters in February 1988, that building was called One First Union Center. The name Two First Union Center referred to the 32-story tower,[4] while the term "Two First Union complex" also included the shorter building, which was known for its Charlotte Hornets murals. The Tryon Street site was considered in the late 1990s for a new First Union building that would have reached 70 to 80 stories. The proposed name was Four First Union.[5][6] After the First Union-Wachovia Merger the complex was called Two Wachovia Center.[7]
Wachovia planned to move out of the shorter building in 2003 and 2004[5] but decided to renovate it instead. The last renovation had taken place in the 1970s.[3] The new project involved moving some employees temporarily to the BellSouth building and other locations, the bank returned to the building in Spring 2006.[8] On October 12, 2006, the bank's new flagship branch opened on the ground floor. It replaced branches in One and Three Wachovia Center and at 8,500 square feet (790 m2), was one of the bank's largest, using the style of branches in New York City and Dallas.[9][10]
In December 2010, as a result of Wells Fargo's 2008 purchase of Wachovia, the larger building was renamed Two Wells Fargo Center.[11]
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Charlotte
- List of tallest buildings in North Carolina
- One Wells Fargo Center
References
- ^ "Johnston Memorial Presbyterian Church Timeline" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ M.S. Van Hecke, "Masonic Temple's Demise: First Union Will Demolish Building", The Charlotte Observer, August 7, 1987.
- ^ a b Rick Rothacker, "A Better Face for Wachovia at Third, Tryon", The Charlotte Observer, October 21, 2004, p. 1D.
- ^ M.S. Van Hecke, "First Union Moving into New Tower,"The Charlotte Observer, February 6, 1988.
- ^ a b Doug Smith, "Wachovia to Vacate Building – 12-Story Building at Two First Union Started Race for Bigger Towers 50 Years Ago", The Charlotte Observer, Thursday, August 7, 2003.
- ^ "The Tower That Wasn't", The Charlotte Observer, July 10, 2005, p. 1D.
- ^ Tannenbaum, Fred (2002-01-18). "Wachovia Renames Charlotte's First Union Buildings". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- ^ Rick Rothacker, "Wachovia Projects to Change Uptown's Look", The Charlotte Observer, February 25, 2006, p. 1D.
- ^ Binyamin Appelbaum, "Wachovia Site Seeks Walk-Ups", The Charlotte Observer, November 16, 2005, p. 1D.
- ^ Binyamin Appelbaum, "Bank Notes: An Occasional Roundup of News in the No. 2 Bank Town, The Charlotte Observer, October 13, 2006, p. 2D.
- ^ Rothacker, Rick (2010-12-14). "Wells Fargo changing names of uptown towers". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 2010-12-21.[permanent dead link]