In 1922 a competition was held in Chicago where renowned architects from all over the world were asked to submit plans for the new Chicago Tribune building. There was a $100,000 prize fund, with $50,000 to go to the winning architect. The first-place design, a Neo-Gothic masterpiece drawn by the New York firm of John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, was completed in 1925 and stands today.
Architects that competed in this highly influential contest, however, believed that the best design was the second place drawing by Finnish-American architect Eliel Saarinen. His Tribune design was an Art Deco masterpiece which won the $20,000 second place ribbon. Famed architect Louis Sullivan named Saarinen his "stylistic successor" in response to the design, and stated that this style would indicate the future direction for the Chicago School. Although the building was never erected, the drawing influenced dozens of designs during the following decade - including the 1931 Shreve, Lamb and Harmon designed Empire State Building; the American Radiator Building, designed by Raymond Hood; the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph in San Francisco, by Timothy L. Pflueger; The Russ Building, also in Frisco; and the Trost designed O.T. Bassett Tower (El Paso) and Luhrs Tower in Phoenix.
The Luhrs Tower was erected in 1929 by George Luhrs Jr., a successful Phoenix businessman and veteran of World War 1. His father, George Luhrs Senior, was an ex-City Councilman, and had built the Trost designed Luhrs Building, a ten-story office block to the west of the Tower, 5 years earlier. The 14-story Luhrs Tower is strongly reminiscent of Trost's O.T. Bassett Tower in El Paso, a 15 story stepped Art Deco building erected in 1930.
According to the owner's website, the Luhrs was the tallest building in the southwest between El Paso and Los Angeles for "decades". (The veracity of this statement depends on what one believes the borders of "southwest" are; we know that both the O.T. Bassett Tower and the Hilton in El Paso were taller - Ed.) The Luhrs family retained ownership of the building until the complex was purchased by the Hansji Corporation in late 2006 - early 2007. Hansji completely restored the 3 Trost buildings in the complex in 2009, then divested the property, newly known as "Luhrs City Center". The new owners, a partnership comprised of Invesco and the Lincoln Property Company, have retained ownership of the Post Office area and the Luhrs Tower. They sold the 1924 10-story Luhrs Building in late 2019 to PEG Companies (https://pegcompanies.com/).
The Luhrs Tower dominated the Phoenix skyline for many, many years, until modern buildings overtook it. It still stands on the southern edge of the downtown area, and creates a haunting decoration framed by the taller buildings when viewed from the I-17 Freeway to its south. The building is currently listed on the Phoenix Historic Property Register.
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020 |
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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Photograph taken by Mark Stone 10/24/2020
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