It was built by the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1961–64 as part of the Gateway Center project which redeveloped a large portion of the area known as the Point.

[7] The building was designed by Curtis and Davis, a New Orleans–based architecture firm, with structural engineers Worthington, Skilling, Helle & Jackson.

The building was developed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society as part of the Gateway Center project, which transformed an area consisting primarily of old warehouses into a modernist office park.

In fact, the structural engineers for the IBM Building, John Skilling and Leslie E. Robertson, were also responsible for the World Trade Center.

[12] Another unusual feature of the building is that the frame is constructed from different grades of steel depending on the strength requirements of each structural member.

Instead, the engineers devised the frame geometry first and then calculated the required yield strength for each member, refining the design iteratively.