First National Bank Building (Albuquerque)

First National Bank Building
The First National Bank Building in Albuquerque
Location: 217-233 Central Ave., NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Built: 1922
Architect: Henry Charles Trost
NRHP Reference#: 79003127
Added to NRHP: February 2, 1979

The First National Bank Building is a historic building located at 217-233 Central Avenue NW in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. The nine-story, L-shaped building was the city's first skyscraper. Built in 1922, the First National Bank Building was designed by Trost & Trost, an El Paso architecture firm that was well known in the region. At 43 m (141 ft), it was by far the tallest building in the city until the International Style Simms Building was built in 1954. The interior of the first floor is done almost entirely in grey streak marble, and features 28-foot-tall (8.5 m) vault ceilings.

The building was owned by First National Bank (later First Security Bank) until 1999, when it was purchased by a private developer with the intent to convert it into a luxury hotel.[1] Plans later changed, and the building was instead remodeled into a high-end condominium project called The Banque Lofts, which opened in 2006.[2]

References

  1. ^ Hume, Bill (November 25, 2001). "New Prado Hotel Is One Step Closer". Albuquerque Journal (NM): p. B2. 
  2. ^ Jojola, Lloyd (March 2, 2006). "Bank Building To Be High-End Living - 'Luxury' Is Key To New Development". Albuquerque Journal (NM): p. C2. 

External links

First National Bank Building (43 m) (1922) · Simms Building (55 m) (1954) · Bank of the West Tower (65 m) (1963) · Compass Bank Building (73 m) (1968) · Albuquerque Plaza (107 m) (1990)
Constructed
Proposed