Tower 55 Explained

Building Name:Tower 55
Former Name:Market Post Tower
Location:55 South Market Street
San Jose, California
Coordinates:37.3342°N -121.8916°W
Completion Date:1984
Building Type:Commercial offices
Data center
Architectural Style:Modernism
Roof:216.44feet
Floor Count:15
Floor Area:27000m2
Architect:CRGP Limited
David Takamoto Associates
References:[1]

Tower 55 (formerly the Market Post Tower; also known as the Gold Building or simply 55 South Market) is a 15-story building at the corner of South Market Street and Post Street in downtown San Jose, California. Built in 1985 as the Market Post Tower, it was designed to provide a mix of office and retail space. When first built, the building was controversial due to its gold-colored glass exterior, which produced high light and heat reflection.[2] In its early years, the owners struggled financially with the property and were forced to put it up for sale in 1987.[3] [4] While the intended tenants did not materialize, the building proved popular with telecom carriers as an Internet exchange center, with MAE-West on the 13th floor, one of the oldest and most well known Internet exchanges.[5] Many carriers maintain collocation space in the building to support their interconnections through MAE-West (so-called "public peering") as well as direct interconnections ("private peering").

Tower 55 remains mixed-use, comprising office, telecom, and retail space, but it is perhaps most well known for its use by internet network service, peering, and colocation providers. The building was purchased in 2000 by The Carlyle Group, which further enhanced the building's network infrastructure, and now advertises it as a "multi-tenant carrier neutral telecom facility." CoreSite, a Denver-based wholesale provider of data centers, colocation and peering, currently handles tenant leases within the building.

San Jose's first public nude sculpture was located at the Market Post Building, but this was removed during building renovations in 2012.[6] The federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) occupies one entire floor of the building as a regional office.[7]

In 2013, Market Post Tower was renovated[8] and renamed Tower 55.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Emporis building ID 118595 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160307040942/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/118595 . dead . March 7, 2016 . Emporis.
  2. News: City's Hot New Building Glass Reflects Heat and Light, Stirs Dispute . The San Jose Mercury News . August 29, 1985 .
  3. News: Gold Building Ends Up On the Block . The San Jose Mercury News . July 25, 1987 .
  4. News: Owners of Gold Building File for Chapter 11 . The San Jose Mercury News . July 30, 1987 .
  5. News: Southern Cross Cable Network commissions third US access point . The Age . August 19, 2002.
  6. News: Statuesque Bronze Beauty Unveiled . The San Jose Mercury News . September 20, 1986 .
  7. News: Contact My Local Office in California . "IRS website" . September 24, 2013.
  8. Pure “Gold” upgrades. Downtown Dimension. Rick Jensen. San Jose Downtown Association. 24. 9. February 2013. 2. PDF.