Chase Tower (Phoenix)
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The Chase Tower (formerly known as Valley Bank Center and Bank One Center) in Phoenix, Arizona is the tallest building in the state of Arizona. Built in 1972, it is 483 feet (147 meters) tall. It was originally built for local financial heavyweight Valley National Bank, which Bank One acquired in 1994. Bank One merged with Chase in 2005, and the building was renamed in December 2005. It is 40 stories tall but the highest occupiable floor is the 38th, where the private Arizona Club Restaurant is located. There is no observation area in the Chase Tower because of the September 11th attacks.
Unlike many traditional skyscrapers with zero-setback retail/lobby space on the ground floor, access to the tower is through an underground restaurant/retail concourse set a comparatively large distance away from the bordering streets.
The building was designed by the prominent Los Angeles-based architectural firm Welton Becket and Associates (now Ellerbe Becket). Upon completion, the tower spawned a revitalization of downtown Phoenix that would last for almost twenty years until the savings and loan crisis brought about the 1989 real estate crash. Located at 201 North Central Avenue, the tower was renovated in 2003 to accommodate 800 additional Bank One employees.
