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salon, and saunas on the 16th floor, and a gymnasium and rooftop deck "for dancing, sunbathing and other outside activities" on the 17th floor. The club went out of business after only two years and its space was eventually converted into two residential penthouses, which remained in place as of 2015 along with a rooftop
300:
The First
National Bank branch originally occupied the first two floors of the building, while the basement housed the vaults and lock boxes, an event room, and a cafe. The top two floors were reserved for the members-only Albuquerque City Club. The club facilities included a bar, dining room, beauty
341:
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
361:
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
276:
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
357:
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
284:
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. The building was intended to become the focal point of a new urban
337:
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.
312:
bought the branch. Bank of the West moved out of the tower in 2012. As of
February 2021, only 30% of the total property (consisting of this tower and a shorter tower nearby) was leased and in use. As of September 2023, the building is vacant and up for auction.
244:. At 64.9 m (213 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
333:(later extensively remodeled). The building has 17 above-ground floors and a basement level, giving a total of 106,000 sq ft (9,800 m) of floor space. The frame was constructed from poured-in-place reinforced concrete and employed
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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.
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development called First
National Bank Center, though ultimately only one other tower was built, an adjacent 10-story office building that once housed the headquarters of
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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
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depicting various aspects of New Mexico history, including indigenous peoples (second floor), covered wagons (10th floor), the
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and originally housed the East
Central branch of the First National Bank of New Mexico. The original name of the building was
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534:"Albuquerque's architectural peaks: Five buildings helped change Duke City's image from large town to small city"
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upper floors. The elevator lobbies were decorated with fifteen 8-by-12-foot (2.4 by 3.7 m) murals by
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just three years after opening, though it remains the tallest building in the city outside of
Downtown.
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efforts underway downtown, the new highrise lost its title as the city's tallest building to the
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354:(17th floor). Like much of Garver's work, the murals were fragile and have not survived.
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O'Neill, Peggy Lee (December 15, 1995). "First
Security laying off 113 in New Mexico".
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Chavez, Barbara (July 17, 2003). "Man Never Got Enough of Architecture".
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The Bank of the West Tower was designed by the Albuquerque firm of
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When completed, the 64.9 m (213 ft) tower surpassed the
669:"Plans could bring new life to old First National Bank buildings"
33:
Bank of the West Tower, seen from the west across San Mateo Blvd.
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645:"ABQ landmark, former Bank of West Tower, is up for auction"
252:. For most of its history, the tower housed a succession of
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Quigley, Winthrop (April 16, 2001). "Consolidation Blues".
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Skyscraper office buildings in Albuquerque, New Mexico
325:, which was also responsible for the nearly identical
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693:"Bank Takes Bottom Floor for New Branch Quarters".
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767:Timeline of the tallest Buildings in Albuquerque
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400:. Archived from the original on July 4, 2016.
16:Commercial offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico
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482:"Traffic Snarl Stopped By Large Numerals".
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559:"Hundreds Visit New Albuquerque City Club"
248:and designed by the architectural firm of
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987:Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66
931:Pete V. Domenici United States Courthouse
510:. UNM School of Architecture and Planning
963:List of tallest buildings in Albuquerque
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372:List of tallest buildings in Albuquerque
532:Brunt, Charles D. (November 28, 2015).
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467:"New Bank Building Dominates Skyline".
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240:some 3.5 mi (5.6 km) east of
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185:106,000 sq ft (9,800 m)
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1002:Modernist architecture in New Mexico
916:New Mexico Bank & Trust Building
796:New Mexico Bank & Trust Building
697:. NM. February 13, 1963. p. B2.
486:. NM. February 13, 1963. p. B6.
471:. NM. February 13, 1963. p. B3.
282:New Mexico Bank & Trust Building
62:New Mexico Bank & Trust Building
504:"First National Bank Building East"
272:to avoid confusion with the bank's
997:Office buildings completed in 1963
323:Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn
250:Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn
199:Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn
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1007:1963 establishments in New Mexico
585:"Lack of Income Closes City Club"
270:First National Bank Building East
228:is a highrise office building in
46:First National Bank Building East
27:
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921:Dennis Chavez Federal Building
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992:Bank buildings in New Mexico
946:First National Bank Building
778:First National Bank Building
643:Gupta, Aayush (2023-09-20).
392:"Emporis building ID 129658"
48:First Security Bank Building
599:– via Newspapers.com.
573:– via Newspapers.com.
547:– via Newspapers.com.
264:The tower was built by the
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649:Albuquerque Business First
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896:Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
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410:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
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164:64.9 m (213 ft)
38:
26:
426:"Bank of the West Tower"
132:35.078191°N 106.585732°W
941:Park Plaza Condominiums
936:Metropolitan Courthouse
731:Albuquerque Daily Photo
190:Design and construction
95:5301 Central Avenue NE.
911:Bank of the West Tower
805:Bank of the West Tower
727:Bank of the West Tower
445:Bank of the West Tower
350:(16th floor), and the
226:Bank of the West Tower
137:35.078191; -106.585732
22:Bank of the West Tower
901:Compass Bank Building
814:Compass Bank Building
508:Albuquerque Modernism
72:Compass Bank Building
352:Duke of Alburquerque
266:Del Webb Corporation
246:Del Webb Corporation
710:Albuquerque Journal
695:Albuquerque Tribune
627:Albuquerque Journal
612:Albuquerque Journal
589:Albuquerque Journal
563:Albuquerque Journal
538:Albuquerque Journal
484:Albuquerque Tribune
469:Albuquerque Tribune
236:. It is located on
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78:General information
86:Commercial offices
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614:. NM. p. A1.
327:Del Webb Building
295:National Building
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169:Technical details
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565:. March 8, 1963
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591:. May 1, 1965
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677:. Retrieved
675:. 2021-02-17
673:KRQE NEWS 13
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344:Alice Garver
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317:Architecture
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225:
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195:Architect(s)
68:Surpassed by
43:Former names
884:Constructed
873:Albuquerque
303:racquetball
230:Albuquerque
174:Floor count
135: /
123:106°35′09″W
110:Coordinates
99:Albuquerque
58:Preceded by
976:Categories
961:See also:
877:New Mexico
869:High-rises
679:2023-11-05
654:2023-11-05
450:Structurae
378:References
348:Atomic Age
234:New Mexico
215:References
182:Floor area
120:35°04′41″N
103:New Mexico
362:signage.
287:Microsoft
205:Developer
148:Completed
595:June 30,
569:June 30,
543:June 30,
514:June 30,
406:cite web
366:See also
277:floors.
242:Downtown
91:Location
826:(107 m)
397:Emporis
331:Phoenix
305:court.
289:. With
260:History
828:(1990)
819:(1966)
817:(73 m)
810:(1963)
808:(65 m)
801:(1961)
799:(62 m)
792:(1954)
790:(55 m)
783:(1923)
781:(43 m)
156:Height
712:. NM.
629:. NM.
597:2019
571:2019
545:2019
516:2019
412:link
161:Roof
151:1963
83:Type
871:in
729:at
447:at
329:in
978::
875:,
671:.
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635:^
587:.
561:.
536:.
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506:.
492:^
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428:.
408:}}
404:{{
394:.
256:.
232:,
177:17
101:,
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657:.
518:.
434:.
414:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
