Bank of the West Tower is a highrise office building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is located on Central Avenue some 3.5Â mi (5.6Â km) east of Downtown. At 64.9Â m (213Â ft), the 17-story tower was the tallest building in New Mexico when completed in 1963. It is now the fifth tallest building in the state, and the tallest outside of Downtown Albuquerque. The building was developed by the Del Webb Corporation and designed by the architectural firm of Flatow, Moore, Bryan and Fairburn. For most of its history the tower housed a succession of bank branches.
History
The tower was built by the Del Webb Corporation and originally housed the East Central branch of the First National Bank of New Mexico. The original name of the building was First National Bank Building East to avoid confusion with the bank's main building downtown. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on July 12, 1961, and the bank was officially opened for business on February 16, 1963. During construction, the builders reportedly attached numbers to the side of the building to prevent drivers from being distracted by trying to count the number of floors.
When completed, the 64.9Â m (213Â ft) tower surpassed the Gold Building to become the tallest in New Mexico. Its construction, far from the existing highrises downtown, reflected an ongoing shift of people and capital from Albuquerque's decaying city center to the more suburban Northeast Heights. However, with urban renewal efforts underway downtown, the new highrise lost its title as the city's tallest building to the National Building just three years after opening, in 1966. It remains the tallest building in the city outside of Downtown.
First National Bank was purchased by First Security Bank in 1993, and the building's name and signage changed accordingly. The tower was renamed again in 2001 when Bank of the West bought the branch. Bank of the West vacated the building in 2012. It is used by various State departments.
Architecture
The Bank of the West Tower was designed by the Albuquerque firm of Flatow, Moore, Bryan & Fairburn, which was also responsible for the similar Phoenix City Square towers in Phoenix. The building has 17 above-ground floors and a basement level, giving a total of 106,000 sq ft (9,800 m2) of floor space. The frame was constructed from poured-in-place reinforced concrete and employed post-tensioned girders to distribute the weight of each floor to the tower's exterior columns and central core, allowing for a column-free interior. The post-tensioning system also reduced the overall height of each story, allowing the developers to add an extra floor without changing the planned height.
The building's ground floor features pillars faced with gray Italian marble framing 28 large plate glass windows. The lobby and banking hall were originally finished in gray and cream-colored marble with walnut and aluminum trim, while "a dark green Grecian marbleized vinyl covering" was used on the upper floors.
On the exterior, white paint and tinted glass were used to reduce the building's cooling load. Each spandrel is faced with gold ceramic tile, which architect Max Flatow described as containing actual 23-karat gold, saying "We would be a richer society if we used our precious things on buildings instead of burying them in the ground." Approximately 2.5 million of the one inch square tiles were required to cover the building. The exterior of the tower is also decorated with gold-colored aluminum screens on the eleventh floor.
The top of the building originally featured the text "FIRST NATIONAL BANK" in illuminated green letters on all four sides. This was replaced in 1993 with "FIRST SECURITY BANK" in red lettering, and then in 2001 with the Bank of the West logo. As of 2012 the building no longer features any exterior signage.
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Albuquerque
References
External links
- Bank of the West Tower at Albuquerque Daily Photo
