Rainier Towers

9/19/19 old Rainier Tower (new Rainier
Square Tower behind it)

Several months ago USk Seattle met downtown to sketch around the new Rainier Square Tower under construction and the old Rainier Tower next to it. In the area for an appointment last week, I made a couple of quick, small sketches of the old tower. Back in the ‘70s when it was built, it struck me as strange (Greg always says it looks like a beaver has been gnawing it, and I think it looks like a pencil stuck in the ground, point down). But now I’m fond of its clean, elegant lines. (Bonus trivia: Rainier Tower was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who also designed New York City’s World Trade Center.)

Behind it in both sketches, you can see the greenish glassy new tower with its stair-stepped construction. It’s coming along well and looks less messy than I drew it. Maybe by next spring I’ll go back and sketch it again.

9/19/19