First City Tower

First City Tower is a skyscraper in downtown. It contains 49 floors, and was completed in 1981. The structure is an example of late-modernist architecture. The building is noted for its distinctive "staircase cuts" on the north and south facades, and is composed mostly of aluminum and green-tinted glass. These designs were designed to represent the letter "F" for the building's developer and first major tenant, First City Bank. First City Tower was constructed in a diagonal rotation away from Houston's main north-south street grid, which gives the impression that the structure has a larger footprint than it actually does. Granite pavers and landscaped planters were placed in the north and south plazas. The entrance columns were re-clad in stainless steel and a limestone monument, displaying the address and tenants of the First City Tower, was erected at the intersection of Fannin and Lamar.

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