St. Mary's Church, Plaza #1, Public Safety Building
Artist
Carroll H. Walker
(American, 1904 - 1990)
CultureAmerican
Date1966
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 7 5/8 × 9 11/16 in. (19.4 × 24.6 cm)
Overall, Support: 8 × 9 7/8 in. (20.3 × 25.1 cm)
Overall, Support: 8 × 9 7/8 in. (20.3 × 25.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Carroll H. Walker
Object number67.40.220
On View
Not on viewLabel TextLooking toward New Civic Center: Plaza #1, Saint Mary’s Church, Courts, Public Safety Municipal Building, 1964 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.221 Saint Mary’s Church, Plaza #1, Public Safety Building, 1966 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.220 Early Morning, City Hall Avenue and Bank Street, October 28, 1961, 1961 Gift of Carroll H. Walker 67.40.218 Plaza #1 was the first new high-rise structure to be built in lower downtown. The 11-story, 100,000-square-foot office building featured a stylized fin-shaped roof that exemplified the Redevelopment Authority’s design ideals. Construction met delays while awaiting Norwegian granite for the interior, and onlookers marveled at the grid of girders that sat empty until the brick and glass façade could go up. The official opening was further delayed while the nearby pedestrian mall was completed. The NRHA had to demolish the businesses along Main Street before building the new mall, and the entrance to Plaza #1 was blocked until that project was complete. One construction representative noted, “We can’t even get people to the front door of Plaza #1, but we’re renting it real well.” Visitors used the staff entrance on the side of the building until the main entrance was complete. After 36 years, the building was replaced by parking garages and about 90-percent of the building’s steel and concrete—about 10,000 tons—was crushed and reused to pack roads and parking lots.
Carroll H. Walker
1961
