FirstBank Southwest Tower

FirstBank Southwest Tower is a 374-foot, 31-story building located in Amarillo, Texas, United States. Formerly known as SPS Tower, Bank One Center, Chase Tower, and Amarillo Tower, it is the tallest building in Amarillo and the West Texas region. It is also the tallest building between Las Vegas, and Oklahoma City. The building used to be the home of the Amarillo branch of American National Bank. The building also housed the offices of the region's electric power service provider, Southwestern Public Service (which was later acquired by Xcel Energy).[2]

FirstBank Southwest Tower
The FirstBank Southwest Tower in downtown Amarillo.
Location in Texas
Location in United States
Former namesSPS Tower
Team Bank building
Bank One Center
Chase Tower
Amarillo Tower
General information
Architectural styleModernism
Address600 South Tyler Street [1]
Town or cityAmarillo, Texas
CountryUnited States
Coordinates35.2073°N 101.8390°W / 35.2073; -101.8390
Completed1971
Height374 ft (114 m)
Technical details
Floor count31
American National Bank of Amarillo and SPS Tower
NRHP reference No.100003493
Added to NRHPMarch 6, 2019

The Tower has a striking resemblance to the One Financial Plaza Building in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The First Bank Southwest Tower is only about 3 stories taller than its counterpart.

FirstBank Southwest Tower dominates the skyline of downtown Amarillo.

In October 2008, the West Texas A&M University letters were installed on the First Bank Southwest Tower as part of the agreement to have university classes there.[3]

In 2018, Chase decided to close its downtown Amarillo branch in the building. By June 2018, FirstBank Southwest reached an agreement to locate a downtown branch there and receive naming rights on the building in the process.[4][5] The FDIC approved the application by October 2018, for FirstBank Southwest to have a branch in the building, and the bank plans to be operational there by the middle of 2019.[6] Work began in late March 2019 to place the letters for the logo sign for FirstBank Southwest at the top of the tower in 3 places. The process was scheduled to take around 2 weeks' time.[7]

The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 6, 2019.

Tenants

Tenants at FirstBank Southwest Tower include FirstBank Southwest, Amarillo Globe-News, Cactus Feeders,[8] Tower Fitness, Tower Cafe, and the Amarillo Club, a members-only dining facility.[9]

See also

Notes
  1. "Chase Tower". Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  2. Cheryl Berzanskis (2004-06-10). "Bank One Center to be renamed in Chase merger". Amarillo Globe-News.
  3. "WT brands Chase Tower". amarillo.com. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  4. Seymore, Jami (June 12, 2018), "From Chase Tower to FirstBank Southwest Tower: Amarillo landmark to get new tenant and new name", KFDA-TV/Raycom Media. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  5. Watkins, Matthew (June 11, 2018), "Amarillo Tower changing name to FirstBank Southwest Tower", KVII. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  6. "Let's Get Started", fbswdowntown.com, October 9, 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  7. Destiny Richards, "FirstBank Southwest sign placement begins downtown", KFDA-TV, March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  8. Jami Seymore, "Making a move: Cactus Feeders moving corporate office to FirstBank Southwest Tower in downtown Amarillo", KFDA-TV, August 10, 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  9. "FirstBank Southwest Tower (leasing information)", Gaut Whittenburg Emerson. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
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