[4] The tower was the first building erected as part of the Erieview urban renewal project initiated during the administration of Mayor Anthony J. Celebrezze in late 1960.

Architect I. M. Pei authored a master plan which featured groups of low-rise buildings contrasted with taller towers.

Construction went swiftly on the dark-green-and-black wall structure and a massive tree-lined plaza with combined fountain/reflecting pool/ice rink, linking it to East 9th Street.

The tower, with its underground 450 car parking garage, was completed in 1964 and although the full renewal plan was not fully implemented, significant progress was made over the course of the following twenty-five years.

From 1964 until it closed in 1995, the tower's 38th floor was home to the Stouffer's Top of the Town restaurant which offered diners a view of Cleveland's skyline.