Diagonally across the intersection from the Trost & Trost Luhrs Tower in downtown Phoenix sits the Maricopa County-City Administration Building, a stunning example of a Spanish Colonial Revival and Mission eclectic mix. The 1929 structure, erected jointly by the City of Phoenix and Maricopa County, is a monumentally scaled structure dominated by a six-story central tower flanked with two four-story projecting wings. The building features reinforced poured concrete construction made to resemble sandstone masonry with the addition of terra cotta panels.
The exterior of the building was designed by famed Shreveport, Louisiana architect Edward Fairfax Neild Sr. (1884-1955), the designer of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and many buildings on the campus of the Louisiana Tech University. The decision to use Neild was not without controversy, however, because the City of Phoenix wanted local architect Royal Lescher, who was the predominant designer in the city at that time, to draw the plans; nevertheless the County hired Neild by a 2 to 1 vote of the county's Board of Supervisors. Trost & Trost submitted plans, also.
The controversy was abated somewhat by the decision to have Lescher (who at the time was lead partner in the firm of Lescher & Mahoney) design the interior of the structure.
The building stands today in outstanding condition. The Trost Society was able to take updated photographs of the building on 10/24 and 10/25 of this year, and this Courthouse is quite the sight!
***************
Text, research and modern photography provided to Sketchclub.net by Mark Stone, citing:
-- Salt River Stories, "The Maricopa County Courthouse: Building a Municipal & County Infrastructure". Trevor Shackleton and Thomas Black (https://saltriverstories.org/items/show/104)
-- Wikipedia, "Maricopa County Courthouse", staff, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maricopa_County_Courthouse
-- Wikipedia, "Edward F. Neild", staff, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_F._Neild
-- American Courthouses, "Maricopa County", John Deacon, http://www.courthouses.co/us-states/states-a-g/arizona/maricopa-county/
-- National Park Service Asset Detail, National Register of Historic Places, https://npgallery.nps.gov/
 |
| 1929 Photo courtesy of Historical Photographs - Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, History and Archives Division (95-3519.jpg, Print FJ2-12A12) |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photo courtesy of the National Park Service Asset Detail, National Register of Historic Places, https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/88003237_text |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
 |
| Photograph taken by Mark Stone October 2020 |
