Miami Tower Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Miami Tower
Miami Tower in Downtown Miami
Former names	CenTrust Tower NationsBank Tower TotalBank Tower Bank of America Tower at International Place
General information
Type	Commercial office
Location	100 Southeast 2nd Street Miami, Florida
Coordinates	25°46′19″N 80°11′28″W / 25.7720°N 80.1912°W / 25.7720; -80.1912
Construction started	1983
Completed	1987
Opening	1987
Owner	Sumitomo Corporation of America
Height
Roof	625 ft (191 m)
Top floor	47
Technical details
Floor count	47
Floor area	1,160,000 sq ft (108,000 m²)
Lifts/elevators	19
Design and construction
Architect	Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Developer	Centrust Savings Bank
Structural engineer	Crouse-Honderich
Main contractor	The George Hyman Construction Co.

The Miami Tower is a famous 47-story office skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. It stands tall in the center of Downtown Miami. This building is currently one of the 14 tallest buildings in both Miami and Florida. On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) of Florida listed it as one of the "100 Years. 100 Places" of Florida architecture.

History of the Miami Tower

A view of the Miami Tower from the ground.

The Miami Tower was built for CenTrust Bank and finished in 1987. It is 625 feet (191 m) tall, making it one of the tallest skyscrapers in Miami and Florida. The tower is famous for its amazing lights at night and its unique three glass sections.

The building was designed by the Pei Cobb Freed & Partners architectural company. The tower is actually made of two separate parts. One part is a 10-story parking garage owned by the city. The other part is the 47-story office tower, which was built on top of the garage's "air rights." This means they built the tower in the space above the garage.

Planning for the tower started in February 1980. Construction on the parking garage began in November of that year. The garage was completed in February 1983. Building the main tower started a year later. In August 1984, while the tower was still being built, a large fire broke out on the ninth floor. This caused construction to be delayed for several weeks. On December 15, 1985, the tower was lit up for the very first time. It showed Miami Dolphins aqua colors and snowflakes.

By mid-1986, the outside of the tower was finished. The grand opening was planned for the fall of that year. However, the tower's foundation settled unevenly on one side by a few inches. This caused the elevator rails to be out of line. Because of this, the grand opening was delayed until February 1987.

The completed building had some special features. It included the world's only elevated metro station inside a skyscraper, called Knight Center station. It also had very fancy interiors. There was a skylobby on the 11th floor, decorated with marble and gold. There was also a 10,000 sq ft (930 m²) outdoor terrace. Even the indoor gym had fancy mahogany cabinets. A walkway connects the tower to the James L. Knight Center. On the first floor, there is a shopping area with green marble. The tower has 503,000 sq ft (46,700 m²) of office space and a large parking garage with 1,500 spaces.

The Miami Tower has appeared in several movies and TV shows. You can see it in the "Streetwise" episode of Miami Vice, which aired on December 5, 1986. The building also appears in the end credits of the 1986 film Flight of the Navigator. In that movie, you can clearly see the top floors were still being built. The roof of the building was used for Gloria Estefan's 1994 music video for "Turn The Beat Around." The tower is also often shown in the background of the stage on The Tonight Show.

On January 1, 2010, the building officially changed its name to the Miami Tower.

The Tower's Many Colors

The Miami Tower has three main sections that can be lit up in different colors. This allows it to show many color schemes for holidays and different seasons. In 2012, a new $1.5 million LED light system was installed. This new system allows for even more amazing light displays that can change very quickly.

Here are some examples of the many colors the tower has shown:

The tower lit white on most nights of the year.
The tower lit red and green for the Christmas Season in 2010.
The tower lit blue with snowflake lights for Christmas Seasons before 2010.
The tower lit pink for National Breast cancer awareness month.
The tower lit red and purple for Valentine's Day 2008.
The tower lit green for Saint Patrick's Day.
The tower lit green and pink for Easter.
The tower lit yellow on several nights of the year.
The tower lit like the American flag for American Independence Day, President's Day, and Veterans Day.
The tower lit like the American flag on 4th of July, with fireworks in front.
The tower lit red for National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims on September 25, 2008.
The tower lit like the Italian flag for Columbus Day.
The tower lit purple for Halloween.
The tower lit for Thanksgiving.

Miami Tower facts for kids

History of the Miami Tower

The Tower's Many Colors

See also