T
he medical offices are gone and the
bank vault is empty, but the
Professional Building is once again a
place of wellbeing and riches. After being
vacant for more than two decades, the
landmark Art Deco skyscraper will reopen
in December as the Hilton Garden Inn
Downtown Phoenix.
The hotel will
combine ornate historic ambiance with
modern comforts including valet parking,
a fitness center, rooftop terrace, and 170
well-appointed guest rooms.
“We are thrilled to have the
opportunity to restore this iconic building
to its original glory,” Steve Schlundt, chief
operating
officer
of
CSM
lodging/residential, says. “We are
committed to preserving its beauty and
grandeur, and in creating a truly unique
experience for our guests.” Minneapolisbased CSM Corporation purchased the
The loud pounding of rivets into
the girders interfered with
luncheons at the nearby Hotel
Adams, which precipitated
numerous complaints.
Images courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
Below: Professional Building under
construction, 1931.
Below right: Bank Executives Earl Bimson and
W. R. Hafford during the fallout shelter era,
late 1960s.
long-vacant property in December 2013
and began renovation in early 2015.
The landmark building was first
envisioned
by
members of the
Maricopa
County
Medical Society in
1930. The medical
community sought
the creation of a
centralized health
care center for Valley
residents. Concurrently, Valley National
Bank of Arizona, then called the Valley
Bank and Trust Company, wanted to
relocate to property it owned at the
southeast corner of Monroe Street and
Central Avenue, which it had acquired in
1907 for $63,000.
Valley Bank obtained commitments
from medical professionals to lease space
in the proposed building. The Los Angeles
architectural firm of Morgan, Walls &
Clements was hired to design the
structure. H.H. Green of Phoenix, who
designed the YMCA building and Heard
Museum, was the local architect assigned
to the project. Final plans for the 12-story
building were completed in January 1931.
The construction contract was awarded to
the L.E. Dixon Company of Los Angeles,
which had built other local structures such
as the Security Building and the Adams
Hotel addition.
To prepare the site for construction,
existing structures on the property were
razed, including an early Phoenix
landmark, the twostory
Central
Building.
During
excavation for the
new
building’s
basement, workers
encountered
Hohokam artifacts
and
shallow
groundwater, which was pumped out into
the city sewer. Even after dewatering,
there were still excavation concerns about
the ground caving in beneath the adjoining
Golden West Hotel, according to
documents from the Phoenix Historic
Preservation Office.
The Kansas City Structural Steel
Company supplied the building’s
framework. Steel girders were surrounded
by reinforced concrete to fireproof the
building. The loud pounding of rivets into
the girders interfered with luncheons at
the nearby Hotel Adams, which
Fifty four
Winter 2015