Located in Central Downtown, the Miami Tower is a 47 story landmark skyscraper in Miami, Florida. It was primarily built as an office tower and it is currently the 8th tallest skyscraper in Miami and in the state of Florida as well. The Miami Tower, originally known and still referred to by many as the Centrust Tower, rises 625 feet (191 metres) and it is famous for its dramatic three glass tiers and the extravagant night time illuminations. The building’s architecture was designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Miami Tower is made up of two seperate buildings, one of which serves as a 10 story parking lot while the other is an office tower that is 47 stories high.
The building that serves as a parking lot was completed in february, 1983 while construction of the main tower began one year later. The Miami Tower was lit for the very first time on December 15th, 1985. In mid 1986, the tower’s exterior was already complete and its grand opening had been scheduled for the same year. Miami tower is unique as it is the world’s first and only skyscraper complex to have an elevated metro station, the Knight Center Station. Miami Center is also famous for its luxurious interior that includes a marble and gold covered lobby and an outdoor terrace that spans 10,000 square feet (930 square meters). The tower’s gym cabinets are made of mahogany which adds onto it’s exquisite and luxurious interior decor.
A pedestrian walkway connects the tower to the James L. Knight Center and on the 1st floor is a green marble covered retail spine. 1,160,000 square feet (108,00 m2) of floor space is divided into a 535,000 square feet (49,700 square meters) parking garage with 1,500 parking spaces and 503,00o square feet (46,700 square meters) of office space.
Miami Tower has unsurprisingly made it to the movies as it appeared in the end credits to the 1986 called Movie Flight Of The Navigator that had an aerial shot of Miami. At the time, the tower was still under construction and this is very visible in the movie as well. Miami Tower was also featured as a set of Gloria Estefan’s video in 1994 for “Turn The Beat Around” as well as the backdrop of The Tonight Show. Miami Tower is most celebrated for its elaborate 1.5 million dollars LED system that was installed in 2012. The tower’s three-tier system allows it to have distinctive color schemes that tribute the respective holiday, season or event.
Several TV shows and video games have also referenced Miami Tower over the years. The most common is the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, that references to Miami Tower as “The Tower At International Place”. I the TV show, Miami Vice, when the tower was sold, the tower is called the “‘Miami Vice’ Tower”. The tower appears in several episodes of the 1980’s TV show and also in a scene of James Bond’s Casino Royale in 2006. Miami Tower’s most recent appearance in the entertainment industry was in FOX’s television series Fringe but its name is changed to the “Boston Federal Building”.
