The Key Tower The structure rises 57 storeys, or 947 feet (289 meters), to the top of its spire, and can be seen from up to 20 miles (32 kilometers). The office area in the skyscraper is about 1.5 million square feet (139,355 m2). KeyCorp, a large regional financial services corporation, is the anchor tenant of Key Tower. It purchased the building as part of an expansion plan when it moved into its new headquarters in 1996. Key Tower was the tallest building in Buffalo until 1990 when it was surpassed by One HSBC Plaza. Today, it is ranked as the 14th-tallest building in Buffalo and the 19th-tallest in New York State. Key Bank now occupies the former offices of Chase Manhattan Bank on the first floor below street level. A small museum commemorating the history of the building is on site. You can visit the top of Key Tower for one of two experiences: the KeyView Observatory or the KeySpan Theatre. The Observatory offers a view of the city while the theatre shows movies at night. Both attractions are free to visitors. Key Tower was designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison with input from Albert Kahn. Construction began in 1972 and was completed four years later at a cost of $50 million. At the time of its completion, it was considered one of the most expensive single construction projects in U.S. history.