Rising 535 feet at the southeast corner of Bay and Laura streets, 1 Independent Square is the skyscraper towering over you. Rising 535 feet (163 meters), it is the city’s second-tallest building, a landmark you can’t miss as you move northwest of the Main Street Bridge and north of the St. Johns River. The tower was completed in 1974 for the Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company and for decades carried that name.
It later became known as the Modis Building until 2011, when Wells Fargo acquired the naming rights; from 2011 to 2024 it was called the Wells Fargo Center. In July 2024 it was renamed 1 Independent Square after Wells Fargo did not renew its naming rights. Built by The Auchter Company and designed by KBJ Architects, the tower’s sloping base and large corner frames were conceived to give the city a distinctive image — so distinctive that KBJ received the Honor Award for Outstanding Achievement in Design from the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Beginning in 1995, the Independent Life company was acquired by the American General Life Insurance firm, part of the building’s later history. The building's angled base draws your eye southeast toward the Main Street Bridge and south to the St. Johns River.