Phoenix Financial Center

Last updated
Phoenix Financial Center
Phoenix financial center top.jpg
Phoenix Financial Center looking east from Central Avenue
Phoenix Financial Center
General information
StatusComplete
TypeOffice
Location3443 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona
Coordinates 33°29′17″N112°4′23″W / 33.48806°N 112.07306°W / 33.48806; -112.07306 Coordinates: 33°29′17″N112°4′23″W / 33.48806°N 112.07306°W / 33.48806; -112.07306
Construction started1964
Completed1968
ManagementKnight & Associates
Technical details
Floor count19
Design and construction
Architect Wenceslaus Sarmiento
Developer David H. Murdock
Main contractor Henry C. Beck Co.

The Phoenix Financial Center consists of a high-rise office building and two adjacent rotunda buildings located along Central Avenue in the Midtown district of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. They were built in 1963 by the Financial Corporation of Arizona. Ground was broken for the facility in September 1963, and the complex was dedicated for opening on September 28, 1964. [1]

The tower fronts Osborn Avenue and is commonly referred to locally as the "Punchcard Building," due to aesthetic similarities between the building's southeastern facade and a computer punch card. Originally, the main tower consisted only of 10 stories; the extra nine were added in 1972. [2] The design included provisions for erecting a second tower that was a mirror image of the first on the north side of the property, but was never built (this area is currently a visitor parking lot). At that time, the building became the headquarters for Western Savings and Loan.

View from Northwest showing the South rotunda. A portion of the tower and North rotunda are also visible. FLWright Phoenix Financial Center PHX AZ USA 20557.JPG
View from Northwest showing the South rotunda. A portion of the tower and North rotunda are also visible.

The two rotundas front Central Avenue and are mirror images of each other. They consist of two stories and a basement, and utilize glass around most of the circumference. Each has a stained glass star at the top of the dome of slightly different designs.

The Phoenix Financial Center is an example of International style architecture, featuring many elements of Googie design. The architect of the building is Wenceslaus Sarmiento. The building is said to be the site of a "fallout-proof" time capsule which was set to be opened in 2012, but the capsule has never been found. [2]

The complex is located close to the Park Central station of METRO Light Rail, which contains displays detailing the history of the Phoenix Financial Center as well as other buildings in the area.

Phoenix Financial Center served as a filming location for the movie What Planet Are You From? which was released in 2000 and directed by Mike Nichols. The film was co-written by, and starred Garry Shandling who grew up in Tucson. The film also featured Ben Kingsley, Annette Bening, John Goodman and Greg Kinnear. Phoenix Financial Center is used as the building where the main character is employed and is featured prominently in many scenes of the film.

Phoenix Financial Center can also be seen briefly in the opening flyover scene of 2016's Bad Santa 2, starring Billy Bob Thornton.

See also

Related Research Articles

IDS Center Skyscraper in Minneapolis

The IDS Center is an office skyscraper located at 80 South 8th Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Completed in 1972, it is the tallest building in Minneapolis, and the tallest building in the state at a height of 792 feet (241 m). It originally stood 775 feet 6 inches (236.37 m), though a 16-foot (4.9 m) garage for window washing equipment was added between 1978 and 1979. The structure rises to 910 feet (10,900 in) when including communications spires on the roof, indisputably the highest points in the city. The IDS was constructed as the headquarters of Investors Diversified Services, Inc.—now Ameriprise Financial. It also housed the headquarters of Dayton Hudson Corporation from 1972 until 2001.

San Francisco City Hall City Hall for the City and County of San Francisco, California

San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California. Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is taller than that of the United States Capitol by 42 feet (13 m). The present building replaced an earlier City Hall that was destroyed during the 1906 earthquake, which was two blocks from the present one.

Renaissance Center Group of interconnected skyscrapers in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

The Renaissance Center is a group of seven connected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Renaissance Center complex is on the Detroit International Riverfront and is owned by General Motors as its world headquarters. The central tower, the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, is the second tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. It has been the tallest building in Michigan since it was erected in 1977.

Skyscrapers are frequently featured in films for their impressive appearance and potent symbolism. They convey an impression of power – an old movie and TV cliché starts with the outside view of a skyscraper with a voice-over conversation, continuing inside the luxurious office of a tycoon or crime boss.

PPG Place Building complex in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

PPG Place is a complex in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, consisting of six buildings within three city blocks and five and a half acres. PPG Place was designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee.

Cleveland Arcade United States historic place

The Arcade in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, is a Victorian-era structure of two nine-story buildings, joined by a five-story arcade with a glass skylight spanning over 300 feet, along the four balconies. Erected in 1890, at a cost of $867,000, the Arcade opened on Memorial Day, and is identified as one of the earliest indoor shopping malls in the United States. The Arcade was modified in 1939, remodeling the Euclid Avenue entrance and adding some structural support. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.

Downtown Phoenix

Downtown Phoenix is the central business district (CBD) of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is located in the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan area or Valley of the Sun. Phoenix, being the county seat of Maricopa County and the capital of Arizona, serves as the center of politics, justice and government on the local, state and federal levels. The area is a major center of employment for the region, with many financial, legal, and other national and international corporations housed in a variety of skyscrapers. Major arts and cultural institutions also call the area home. Downtown Phoenix is a center of major league sports activities, live concert events, and is an equally prominent center of banking and finance in Arizona. Regional headquarters for several major banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Bank of America, Compass Bank and Midfirst Bank are all located within or close proximity to the area.

Reunion Tower

Reunion Tower is a 561 ft (171 m) observation tower in Dallas, Texas and one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. Located at 300 Reunion Boulevard in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, the tower is part of the Hyatt Regency Hotel complex, and is the city's 15th tallest building. A free-standing structure until the construction of an addition to the Hyatt Regency Dallas in 1998, the tower was designed by architectural firm Welton Becket & Associates.

Marina City Mixed-use building complex in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Marina City, affectionately known as "the corn cob", is a mixed-use residential-commercial building complex in Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America, designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg. The multi-building complex opened between 1963 and 1967 and occupies almost an entire city block on State Street on the north bank of the Chicago River on the Near North Side, directly across from the Loop. Portions of the complex were designated a Chicago Landmark in 2016.

The 9 Cleveland Residential and commercial complex located in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio

The 9 Cleveland is a residential and commercial complex located in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, at the corner of East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue. It includes three buildings, the largest of which is a 29-story, 383 feet (117 m) tower commonly known by its previous name of Ameritrust Tower and formerly known as the Cleveland Trust Tower. The tower was completed in 1971 and is an example of brutalist architecture, the only high-rise building designed by Marcel Breuer and Hamilton Smith. The complex also includes the adjacent Cleveland Trust Company Building, completed in 1908, and the Swetland Building.

Chase Tower (Phoenix) Tallest building in the state of Arizona

The Chase Tower in Phoenix, Arizona, is the tallest building in the state of Arizona. Built in 1972, it is 483 feet tall. It was originally built for local financial heavyweight Valley National Bank, with which Bank One merged in 1993. Bank One merged with Chase in 2005, and the building was renamed in December 2005. It is 40 stories tall, but the highest occupiable floor is the 38th. At one time there was a public observation area on the 39th floor in the Chase Tower, but it was closed during redevelopment and construction on the upper floors.

Lafayette Park, Detroit United States historic place

Lafayette Park is a historic urban renewal district east of Downtown Detroit and contains the largest collection of residential buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The northern section planned and partially built by Mies is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2015 it was designated a National Historic Landmark District. Lafayette Park is located on the city's lower east side directly south of the Eastern Market Historic District. In general, the neighborhood, including portions developed by other architects, has been regarded as an incubator of progressive architecture and one of the few historically stable urban renewal zones in the United States.

Cityscape of Lexington, Kentucky

The urban development patterns of Lexington, Kentucky, confined within an urban growth boundary that protects its famed horse farms, include greenbelts and expanses of land between it and the surrounding towns. This has been done to preserve the region's horse farms and the unique Bluegrass landscape, which bring millions of dollars to the city through the horse industry and tourism. Urban growth is also tightly restricted in the adjacent counties, with the exception of Jessamine County, with development only allowed inside existing city limits. In order to prevent rural subdivisions and large homes on expansive lots from consuming the Bluegrass landscape, Fayette and all surrounding counties have minimum lot size requirements, which range from 10 acres (40,000 m2) in Jessamine to fifty in Fayette.

Central Avenue Corridor

The Central Avenue Corridor is a significant stretch of north-south Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. Roughly bounded by Camelback Road to its north, and McDowell Road to its south, this is one of Phoenix's most vital and heavily trafficked stretches of roads. It is also one of the region's largest centers of employment, with nearly 60,000 people being employed within a three-mile (5 km) radius of this swath of Central Avenue. Major employers here include major banks and financial institutions, hi-tech companies, and several significant law firms and government agencies.

Phoenix Corporate Center

The Phoenix Corporate Tower is a 26-story high-rise office building in Phoenix, Arizona. It was built in 1965 and designed in the International Style. The tower was built two miles north of Downtown Phoenix in the Central Corridor. At that time corporate investment turned its attention away from downtown. When the tower was complete it was the tallest building in Phoenix taking that distinction away from the Meridian Bank Tower. It remained the tallest building for six years until the Wells Fargo Plaza was completed in 1971.

Devon Energy Center Tallest commercial skyscraper building in the state of Oklahoma

The Devon Energy Center is a 50-story corporate skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is by far the tallest building in the city and state, and is tied with Park Tower in Chicago as the 62nd tallest building in the United States. Construction began October 6, 2009, and was completed in October 2012. The tower is located next to the historic Colcord Hotel, which Devon currently owns, on Sheridan Avenue between Hudson and Robinson Avenues.

Phoenix City Square Place in Arizona, United States

Phoenix City Square, formerly Kent Plaza and the Rosenzweig Center, is a mixed use high rise complex covering 15 acres at 3800-4000 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix, Arizona. The project was developed by the Del Webb Corporation in 1962. The complex features 3 office towers, a hotel, an open-air retail plaza, and a 1200-car parking garage. City Square was designed by the architectural firm of Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn. The towers were constructed in 1962, 1964, and 1971. 3800 Tower is 194,482 square feet (18,068.0 m2); 3838 Tower is 236,094 square feet (21,933.9 m2); and 4000 Tower is 295,797 square feet. There is also a large 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) Fitness Center, known as Sports Club at City Square, that is part of the complex.

Hotel Valley Ho Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

Hotel Valley Ho is a historic hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. Also called the Valley Ho and, for 28 years, the Ramada Valley Ho, the hotel was originally designed by Edward L. Varney. It first opened in 1956 with a forward-looking and futuristic design. Movie stars and famous baseball players stayed, and the building quickly became known for its trendsetting guests and its fashionable atmosphere. The success of the venture resulted in expansion in 1958, with two additional two-story wings of guest rooms extending to the north. Though initially proposed by Varney, a central tower of guest rooms, rising over the lobby, was not built.

Cleveland Trust Company Building

The Cleveland Trust Company Building is a 1907 building designed by George B. Post and located at the intersection of East 9th Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland's Nine-Twelve District. The building is a mix of Beaux-Arts, Neoclassical, and Renaissance Revival architectural styles. It features a glass-enclosed rotunda, a tympanum sculpture, and interior murals.

References

  1. "Defining Downtown at Mid-Century: The Architecture of the Bank Building & Equipment Corporation of America". recentpast.net. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  2. 1 2 "Modern Phoenix: The Neighborhood Network". modernphoenix.net. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2011-12-17.