 BPOE Elks Lodge (Closed)
Globe, AZ
Photos courtesy Patrick Ryan
Only in an old mining town like Globe would a three-story building need to be nearly 100 feet tall. The BPOE Elks Building towers over downtown with its heavy brick walls, giant arched windows and ceilings that seem to go on forever. It has long been promoted as the “World’s Tallest Three-Story Building,” a wonderfully odd claim that even found its way into Robert Ripley’s Believe It or Not! 11-05
The cornerstone was laid on March 20, 1910, and the building opened later that year as the home of Globe Elks Lodge No. 489. Designed in a Romanesque Revival style, it was finished during the copper boom when Globe had money, crowds and plenty of confidence. Apparently, a normal-sized lodge simply would not do.
 BPOE Elks Lodge
Globe, AZ
Photos courtesy Patrick Ryan
Local legend offers a more entertaining explanation for all that height. The story goes that someone badly overestimated the number of bricks needed for construction. Rather than return the extras, the builders supposedly kept raising the walls until the pile was gone. It sounds a little too perfect, but it certainly makes the building easier to remember.
Each floor once had a very different job. The first floor originally housed the Iris Theater, bringing plays and entertainment to downtown Globe. It later became a mortuary, which probably explains why the building occasionally appears on local ghost tours. The second floor contained the Elks social rooms and a rustic pine bar, while the third floor held the formal initiation lodge with high coved ceilings and Craftsman furnishings.
The tall ceilings and widely spaced floors allowed all of this activity to fit inside a building that still officially counted as only three stories. Whether or not it truly holds a world record, it is difficult to stand beside the place and argue that it is not unusually tall.
 BPOE Elks Lodge Building
Globe, AZ
Photos courtesy Patrick Ryan
The Elks eventually moved to a newer lodge elsewhere in Globe. The old building later housed an antique mall, but years of vacancy left the windows, roof and brickwork needing attention. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 and remains one of the biggest landmarks in the Globe Downtown Historic District.
UPDATE: The Elks’ Building was built in 1910 in the Italianate style. The story goes that the architect hired to construct the building over order on bricks, and instead of selling them used them, hence creating the world’s tallest three story building. The third floor is the initiation lodge area. The second floor was used for lounging and meeting. The first floor has a commercial kitchen and was once and theater for plays in the once booming mining towns of Globe and Miami. Today the building sits vacant. Many thanks to Patrick Ryan for update. 10-06
UPDATE: The old Elks Building is vacant and closed to the public. Preservation owners have worked to stabilize its windows and roof while considering a future use. The exterior survives, along with its larger-than-life claim as the world’s tallest three-story building. 09-26 |
 Luhrs Tower
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
Once upon a time, the Luhrs Tower looked down on everything else in Phoenix. Built in 1929, the 14-story tower rises 185 feet and was once promoted as the tallest building in the Southwest. Its dramatic setbacks, patterned brickwork and decorative details make it a real Art Deco delight. 03-06
The tower was built by George Luhrs Jr. and designed by the El Paso architectural firm Trost & Trost. Its big-city Art Deco shape was dressed up with Southwestern and Spanish-inspired details, giving Phoenix a skyscraper with a little local flavor.
Inside, the lobby still features French marble steps, brass decorations, stenciled wooden ceiling beams and an old mail chute. The tower also made a quick Hollywood appearance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It can be spotted behind Janet Leigh as Marion Crane crosses a downtown Phoenix street with her boss’s money.
UPDATE: Luhrs Tower remains open as an office and retail building within Luhrs City Center. The neighboring Luhrs Building became a hotel, but the taller 1929 tower continues in its original commercial role. 09-26
 Luhrs Building
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
Standing next to the taller Luhrs Tower is the Luhrs Building, its slightly older downtown neighbor. The 10-story brown-brick high-rise opened in 1924 and was once the tallest building in Arizona. Five years later, the family built the neighboring tower and stole its crown. 03-06
Both buildings were designed by Trost & Trost, but they have noticeably different personalities. While the 1929 tower reaches for Art Deco, the Luhrs Building has a more formal Beaux-Arts look. Its 136-foot height helped earn it a reputation as Phoenix’s first true high-rise and reportedly the largest building between El Paso and Los Angeles.
The upper floors once housed the exclusive Arizona Club, while the U.S. Treasury Department maintained offices inside from 1924 to 1935. Original octagonal columns, exposed brick and marble stairways survived the building’s later conversion.
UPDATE: The Luhrs Building reopened as the 164-room Moxy Phoenix Downtown hotel. Historic details were retained throughout the conversion, while Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour continues to occupy the former bank space on the ground floor. 09-26
 Madison Square Garden (Demolished)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
No, this was not the arena in Manhattan where the Knicks play. Phoenix had its own Madison Square Garden, a 3,000-seat boxing and wrestling hall that opened downtown on November 14, 1929. Built for $75,000, it was once the largest indoor arena in the city. 03-06
The opening announcement declared “Everybody Welcome,” and apparently meant it. At a time when segregation was still common around Phoenix, former athletes and promoters remembered people of different races sitting together in the stands.
The Garden hosted fighters and wrestlers such as John Henry Lewis, Zora Folley, Tito Montez and Gorgeous George. When television began cutting into boxing crowds, the arena shifted toward music. Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins and Wayne Newton all appeared here, and guitar legend Duane Eddy reportedly made his live debut on its stage.
UPDATE: The former arena site is now occupied by the Madison Square office complex. A small lobby museum preserves photographs, facade medallions and a concrete outline matching the size of the original boxing ring. 09-26
 Geronimo's Castle (Closed)
Bowie, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
There was no missing Geronimo’s Castle while traveling through Bowie. The giant stucco teepee stood beside the highway as a Greyhound bus stop, cafe, gas station, bar and curio shop all rolled into one. A passenger could step off the bus, grab something to eat and browse a few souvenirs without ever leaving the property. 03-06
Clifford B. Head built the roadside attraction in 1940 to catch the growing stream of motorists crossing southeastern Arizona. Vintage postcards advertised it as standing near the spot where Apache leader Geronimo was captured, adding a little Wild West excitement to the lunch stop.
That story made good advertising, but it was not quite true. Geronimo surrendered to General Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon in 1886, about 60 miles away. He was later held briefly at nearby Fort Bowie before being sent east by train. Close enough for a roadside postcard, apparently.
UPDATE: Geronimo’s Castle closed in 2004 after highway traffic had largely shifted to Interstate 10. The giant teepee remains standing but is vacant, weathered and slowly deteriorating beside the old road. 09-26
 Abandoned Storefront
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
Here’s an old Abandoned Storefront found somewhere near downtown Phoenix. With its empty windows, faded exterior and no sign left behind, the building gives few clues about what kind of business once operated inside. 03-06
Storefronts like this were once scattered across the older commercial streets surrounding downtown. As businesses moved and neighborhoods changed, many were left vacant while newer development slowly closed in around them.
UPDATE: The original business name and exact location remain unknown, making it impossible to determine whether the building was demolished, renovated or is still standing. 09-26
|
