The Atwood Building was selected due to the unique properties of the "Bootlegger Cove Formation" soil it stands on, and the historical seismicity of the region (see Good Friday earthquake.)

The mission of the research is to better understand the effects of seismicity on similar buildings to better prepare them for future large earthquakes.

[5] The USGS has since published a video created by S. Farid Ghahari, Mehmet Çelebi, and Ertugrul Taciroglu, which shows movement of the Atwood building during a M7 event in January, 2016.

The building was developed by NB Hunt Trust Estate who filed for bankruptcy from the Silver Thursday debacle in the late 80s.

Most recently it was named after Robert Bruce Atwood, an Alaska statehood activist and Anchorage Times editor and publisher.