The Commonwealth Building in Portland

Photo of The Commonwealth Building in Portland, Oregon
Photograph © Larry Harris

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The Commonwealth Building
Formerly:The Equitable Building

421 Southwest Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon
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Another grid-based box by modern standards; what this building has in spades is a history of innovation. It was the first skyscraper to use double-paned glass. Air conditioning helped make it the first sealed building America. It was the first to use a flush curtain wall design. It was the first to be clad completely in aluminum, and it is among the first to demonstrate what would eventually become an architectural paradigm – the glass block.

Quick Facts
Notes
    >Only the first 12 stories are original. The 13th was added later.
    >1970's - The lobby is renovated, making it incongruous with the rest of the structure.
    >1982 - The building is honored with the American Institute of Architects 25-Year Honor Award.
    >1987-1990 - Soderstrom Architects works with the original architect to update the lobby and bring it closer to its original intent.
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  The Commonwealth is clad in aluminum and green glass. Thus it blends perfectly with the typically leaden Portland skies.

Matthew Sproul - Monday, April 11th, 2005 @ 1:26pm  

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