Pima County Legal Services Building

The Pima County Legal Services Building is a 20-storey government office building located in downtown Tucson, Arizona. It is the third tallest building in Tucson.

Pima County Legal Services Building
General information
LocationTucson, Arizona
Address32 North Stone Avenue
Construction started1964
Completed1966
Cost$4.5 Million
OwnerPima County
Height260 ft (79 m)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Place & Place
Main contractorM. M. Sundt Construction Company

History

The building completed in 1967 originally was home to the Tucson Federal Savings & Loan Bank and known as the Tucson Federal Building. The building was designed by local architects Place & Place and featured a large banking hall on the second floor as well as windows on three sides of the building with a gold sunscreen to protect the west facing windows. The exterior featured a unique blue glazed brick. The M. M. Sundt Construction Company won the $4.5 million contract (equivalent to $42 million in 2022) for construction of the building, and construction started in the summer of 1964.[1] When the tower was completed in 1966, it was the tallest building in Tucson. A formal dedication ceremony was held on March 27, 1966.[2]

From 1967 to 1990, the exclusive Old Pueblo Club occupied the top two floors.[3] The top of the building was built with a time and temperature clock, which was decommissioned in 1987, although the clock was still in use in 1990.[4] In the early 1970s, the building became known as the Home Federal Building, and on June 23, 1986 it was renamed the Great American Tower Building.[5] It would remain Tucson's tallest building until 1977 when the Arizona Bank Plaza was built. In 1987, the building was purchased for $10.5 million (equivalent to $27 million in 2022) by Pima County, and renamed the Pima County Legal Services Building. In 1997, a water line in a rooftop room broke, sending water through ceiling tiles down to the 16th floor.[6] In 2019, the condition of the blue glazed bricks on the exterior had deteriorated, and several bricks had fallen down to the street below. Nobody was injured by falling bricks, and the county installed protective scaffolding while the brick was repaired.[7]

The Pima County Legal Services Building (right) with One South Church (center) and the Chase Building (left)

See also

References

  1. "Sundt Co Will Construct Tucson Federal Building". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. 1964-05-22. p. 40. Retrieved 2022-07-07 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "27 Mar 1966, Page 31 - Arizona Daily Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  3. "Pima County Legal Services Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018.
  4. "Horses On Parade For Rodeo". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. 1990-02-22. p. A2. Retrieved 2023-01-21 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Time, Temperature Change - Only Name is Missing". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. 1986-06-24. p. D1. Retrieved 2023-01-21 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Leak shuts top of downtown building". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. 1997-10-29. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-07-07 via Newspapers.com.
  7. Ponce, Hector. "Pima County investigating Legal Services Building after reports of falling bricks". KVOA. Retrieved 2022-07-07.

32.22255°N 110.971049°W / 32.22255; -110.971049

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