Bank of America Plaza (Dallas)

Dallas's tallest building, its edges outlined in green argon light at night.

It was finished in 1985 and is a late-modernist tower, a style that likes clean lines and glass. At night its edges glow with green argon lights, so it is easy to find in the skyline. Over the years the building has been renamed many times, because the banks that owned its name kept merging and changing.

Who designed and built it?

JPJ Architects designed the tower, and the developer was Bramalea Limited, a company from Brampton, Ontario, in Canada. Construction began in 1983 and ended in 1985. The first plans were bigger: two 72-story towers, a 600-room hotel and a parking garage were once proposed, and the design had stepped pyramid tops with a silver glass skin and gold bands. To get approval from the aviation authority, the stepped pyramid was dropped, and other design changes followed.

Why so many names?

The development was first called Dallas Main Center. When it opened it was InterFirst Bank Plaza. In 1986 it became First Republic Bank Plaza after a bank merger. First Republic failed and the building was sold in 1988 to a bank from Charlotte, North Carolina, so it was renamed again, as NCNB Plaza. More changes followed as banks merged, until it finally carried the Bank of America name. It is a good example of how company names can change while the tower stays in place.

On the globe

The model shows the tall Dallas tower with its edges outlined in glowing green light. Look for the green outline at night.