Walker Center

Last updated

Walker Bank Building
Walker Center.jpg
Night view of the Walker Center, May 2009
USA Utah location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location175 South Main Street
Salt Lake City, Utah
United States
Coordinates 40°45′55″N111°53′24″W / 40.76528°N 111.89000°W / 40.76528; -111.89000
Built1911
Architect Eames and Young; Stewart, James & Co.
Architectural styleSkyscraper
NRHP reference No. 06000929 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 04, 2006

Walker Center (formerly Walker Bank Building) is a skyscraper in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

Contents

Description

The Walker Center from 200 South Walker center slc.jpg
The Walker Center from 200 South

The building was opened on December 9, 1912, taking a little over a year to be built. It was originally constructed as the headquarters for Walker Bank, founded in Salt Lake City in 1859 by the Walker brothers: Samuel Sharp, Joseph Robinson, David Frederick, and Matthew Walker, Jr. The basement originally contained the vault for the bank, as well as a barbershop, florist, cigar store, and other shops. The main floor contained the bank, and upper floors were used as office space. [2]

The St. Louis, Missouri-based architecture firm Eames and Young designed the structure, [3] which is an example of the Chicago school design style.

Walker Bank was headquartered in the building until a 1981 merger with First Interstate Bancorp; First Interstate merged with Wells Fargo in 1996. Walker Center still operates as a multi-use office and business building, with leasing managed by Colliers.

Weather Tower

The Walker Center is topped by a 64-foot weather tower, which gives a weather forecast based on the color of the lights. A local radio station originally installed the tower when based in the building in the 1940s. The weather tower was taken down in the 1980s due to a city ordinance but the tower was replaced in 2008 with upgrades for safety and code compliance. The meaning of the tower colors are:

A common mnemonic used by residents to remember the signals given by the tower is "Solid blue: skies are too, flashing blue: clouds are due, solid red: rain ahead, flashing red: snow instead." In December 2021, work began to upgrade the neon glass tubes to GLLS LED Neon Flex product. While the weather forecast will still be broadcast, the tower now will have "any color under the rainbow, as well as various animation effects” to promote holidays and other events. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park City, Utah</span> City in Utah, United States

Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County with some portions extending into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is 32 miles (51 km) southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and 20 miles (32 km) from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 8,396 at the 2020 census. On average, the tourist population greatly exceeds the number of permanent residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City</span>

Salt Lake City, Utah has many historic and notable sites within its immediate borders. Although the entire Salt Lake City metropolitan area is often referred to as "Salt Lake City", this article is concerned only with the buildings and sites within the official city limits of Salt Lake City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Salt Lake City</span>

Downtown is the oldest district in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolley Square</span> Shopping mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

Trolley Square is a partially enclosed shopping center located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is considered to be a trendy high-end center. The center is near downtown Salt Lake City and the UTA TRAX light-rail system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Salt Lake City</span>

The economy of Salt Lake City, Utah is primarily service-oriented. While nearby Bingham Canyon Mine provided a strong source of income during the 19th century, the city has evolved to an economy built on transit hubs, call centers, and seasonal tourism. The 2002 Olympic Winter Games gave a great boost to the area's economy. Many hotels and restaurants were built for the 2002 Olympics, and although many survive, they have suffered post-Olympic market saturation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada Life Building</span> Historic office building in Toronto

The Canada Life Building is a historic office building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fifteen-floor Beaux Arts building was built by Sproatt & Rolph and stands at 285 feet (87 m), 321 feet (97.8 m) including its weather beacon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Tower</span> Skyscraper in Pittsburgh

The Gulf Tower is a 44-story, 177.4 m (582 ft) Art Deco skyscraper in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The tower is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of the city and is named for the Gulf Oil Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granite Island Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Because it was positioned near the busy shipping lanes of the mid-19th century, a lighthouse was built on Granite Island in 1868 by the U.S. Lighthouse Board and commissioned in 1869.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weather beacon</span> Beacon that indicates the local weather forecast

A weather beacon is a beacon that indicates the local weather forecast in a code of colored or flashing lights. Often, a short poem or jingle accompanies the code to make it easier to remember.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkeley Building</span> Office in Massachusetts, U.S.

The Berkeley Building is a 26-story, 495-foot (151 m) building located at 200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It is the second of the three John Hancock buildings built in Boston; it was succeeded by the John Hancock Tower. The building is known for the weather beacon at its summit, which displays distinctive light patterns as weather forecasts. The Berkeley Building is the 25th-tallest building in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercantile National Bank Building</span> Skyscraper in Dallas, Texas

The Mercantile National Bank Building is a 31-story, 159.4 m (523 ft) skyscraper at 1800 Main Street in the Main Street district of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the former home of the Mercantile National Bank, which later became MCorp Bank. The design of the skyscraper features Moderne styling from the Art Deco era and was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager. The building has a series of setbacks that is crowned by an ornamental four-sided clock along with a decorative weather spire. The Merc was the main element of a four-building complex that eventually spanned a full city block.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">320 South Boston Building</span> High-rise building located in downtown Tulsa

The 320 South Boston Building is a 22-story high-rise building located in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was originally constructed at the corner of Third Street and Boston Avenue as a ten-story headquarters building for the Exchange National Bank of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1917, and expanded to its present dimensions in 1929. The addition brought the building's height to 400 feet (122 m), making it the tallest building in Oklahoma. It lost this distinction in 1931, but remained the tallest building in Tulsa until Fourth National Bank was completed in 1967. It is now included in the Oil Capital Historic District.

In weather forecasting in the United States, "particularly dangerous situation" (PDS) is enhanced wording used by the National Weather Service to convey special urgency in some watch or warning messages for unusually extreme and life-threatening severe weather events, above and beyond the average severity for the type of event. It is used in the format "This is a particularly dangerous situation..." at the discretion of the issuing forecaster. A watch or warning bearing the phrase is referred to as a PDS watch or PDS warning as shorthand jargon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U-Drop Inn</span> United States historic place

The U-Drop Inn, also known as Tower Station and U-Drop Inn and Tower Café, was built in 1936 in Shamrock, Texas along the historic Route 66 highway in Wheeler County. Inspired by the image of a nail stuck in soil, the building was designed by J. C. Berry. An unusual example of art deco architecture applied to a gas station and restaurant, the building features two flared towers with geometric detailing, curvilinear massing, glazed ceramic tile walls, and neon light accents. It has traditionally held two separate business: "Tower Station," a gas station on the western side, and the "U-Drop Inn," a café on the eastern side. Though it has passed hands several times in its history, the building has consistently housed the same types of businesses it was originally constructed for.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1740 Broadway</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

1740 Broadway is a 26-story building on the east side of Broadway, between 55th and 56th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building is owned by EQ Office and shares a city block with the Park Central Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse</span> United States historic place

The Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is a former commercial warehouse building located at 882 Oakman Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. It is now known as the NSO Bell Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Main (Utah State University)</span> United States historic place

Old Main was the first building built on the campus of the Agricultural College of Utah, now Utah State University. It sits at the top of Old Main Hill, overlooking the city of Logan to the west, and facing the quad to the east. Old Main is the oldest functioning academic building in Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First National Bank (Salt Lake City)</span> Historic building in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

The First National Bank is a historic bank building in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCTV Broadcast Tower</span> Communications tower in Kansas City, US

KC-TVTower is a 1,042-foot (318 m) high freestanding steel lattice tower located at East 31st Street on Union Hill in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Merchants and miners in Utah : the Walker brothers and their bank / Jonathan Bliss.[Salt Lake City, Utah] : Western Epics, c1983.
  3. "Walker Bank Building for the M. H. Walker Realty Company". Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  4. "Historic weather tower lights up skyline". KSL. March 21, 2009.
  5. "Walker Center's new high-tech tower lights up Salt Lake City skyline". KSTU. February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
Preceded by Tallest Building in Salt Lake City
1912–1916
67m
Succeeded by