Not to worry. Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc. is lovingly restoring the historic Farmers & Stockmens Bank, making it its new Phoenix office. The building was designed by the internationally famous team of Pereira & Luckman in 1951. It is certified a historic structure by the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office. Cuningham Group moves into building when it completes interior renovations in December.
The Arizona Republic covered the move.
“For a firm such as ours that deeply respects good design, it is an honor to make this landmark our home,” said Cuningham Group Principal Nabil Abou-Haidar, AIA. “There is a clean-lined simplicity to the building that remains attractive to this day. It is certainly an approach we bring forward in contemporary architecture for our clients, and in our other offices around the world.”
The Farmers & Stockmen’s Bank is one of just two Phoenix structures by William Leonard Pereira. The architect is famous for the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, the masterplan for the City of Irvine, and (with Paul Williams and Welton Becket) the jet-age “Theme Building” at Los Angeles International Airport.
The original landmark was captured by famed architectural photographer Julius Shulman in images now controlled by J. Paul Getty Trust.
Original Farmers & Stockmens Bank interior, by Pereira & Luckman. Photo by Julius Shulman. © J. Paul Getty Trust.