1st Pasadena State Bank Building
From Towrs
Contents |
Summary
Easily mistaken for a lost work of Frank Lloyd Wright, this skyscraper is one of the most interesting pieces of architecture in Texas. At its base is a wide featureless podium topped with white stripes and a single strip of narrow windows. From the center rises the tower. It looks as if it started as a simple glass box with the dark glass, white spandrels, and three-quarter height windows typical of the era in which it was constructed. The main body of this box is indented near its base and accented with a wide white border. When combined with shadows it appears as if the tower is hovering above the podium. Then on the front part of the box is narrowed and allowed to slack as if the front facade is descending like the elevator of an alien space ship to let people in. This marks the entrance.
A further look at the top of the building reveals the wood-colored right angles and stained glass that were one of Wright's hallmarks. Simple geometric shapes adorn an overhang supported by columns topped with a stepped pedestal.
Statistics
- Official Name: Bank One Building
- Stories above ground: 12
- Type: Skyscraper
- Status: Abandoned
- Address: 1001 East Southmore Avenue, Pasadena, Texas 77502
Timeline
- 1962: Construction starts.
- 1963: Construction is completed.
- 1964: Building is featured in the March 1964 issue of Architectural Forum
- December, 2005: A demolition permit is issued for this building.
- 2006: This building is purchased by Pasadena Southmore for $1.25 million.
Trivia
- Architects: Design: Frederick James MacKie, Karl Kamrath, Lloyd Borget of MacKie and Kamrath Architects. Construction Administration: Symond E. Doughtie and Jack Porterfield.
- Karl Kamrath first met Frank Lloyd Wright in 1946. Kamrath and MacKie hosted Wright on his visit to Houston in 1949 when Wright accepted the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects.
- This was the first skyscraper built in Pasadena, Texas.
- The University of Houston Library has a copy of the Grand Opening Brochure for the bank which includes numerous renderings of the interiors.
Further Reading
1st Pasadena State Bank at HAIF
Bank One Building at Glass Steel and Stone
Karl Kamrath biography and collection at University of Texas at Austin
