Biography | Jeff Bezos — The Fourth Floor on Second Avenue That Took Amazon Public

People treat Amazon's public debut as a Silicon Valley story.

The offering documents listed a four-story walk-up in downtown Seattle.

On 1 July 1996 Amazon.com, Inc. leased suite 400 of the Columbia Building at 1516 Second Avenue.

Jeff Bezos signed the later amendments as the company took more of the floors.

The building sat between Pike and Pine, two blocks from Pike Place Market.

On 14 May 1997 the company announced an initial public offering of 3,000,000 shares at 18 dollars a share. Deutsche Morgan Grenfell led the underwriting.

The same release gave the headquarters as 1516 Second Avenue, 4th Floor, Seattle, WA 98101.

Trading began the next day on Nasdaq under the ticker AMZN.

Three million shares at 18 dollars came to 54 million dollars of primary proceeds.

The March 1997 S-1 described the firm as an online bookseller.

It reported 1996 net sales of 15.7 million dollars, and a rise in average daily visits from about 2,200 in December 1995 to about 50,000 in December 1996.

From 1 January to 31 December 1996 the company grew from 11 employees to 151.

Desks made from doors and two-by-fours were already in use on these floors.

A 1999 television crew still used this address to find the office.

Amazon left later that year for the Pacific Medical Center tower on Beacon Hill.

The four-story structure was later restyled the Chromer Building. As of late 2024 it still stood vacant, with a tall condominium permit on the lot left on hold.

The pin is the documented office address, not a private home.

Photo: Jeff Bezos speaking in 2005, James Duncan Davidson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.