Luhrs Tower
Encyclopedia
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
office building in downtown Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. It is located at the southeast corner of First Avenue and Jefferson Street, on the south side of the former Patriots Square Park
Patriots Square Park
Patriots Square Park was an urban park located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The space has been redeveloped as part of the larger CityScape office and retail project; large portions of the park were demolished as of the spring of 2009...
. Built in 1929 by George Luhrs, a prominent local businessman, the tower reaches a height of 185 ft (56 m). Luhrs Tower has 14 stories, with symmetrical setbacks at the 8th and 11th floors. It was designed by the El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
architectural firm of Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost Architects & Engineers was an architecture firm based in El Paso, Texas. The firm's chief designer was Henry Charles Trost, who was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1860. Trost moved from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona in 1899 and then on to El Paso in 1903...
and bears a considerable resemblance to another design by the same firm, the O. T. Bassett Tower in El Paso.
The Luhrs Tower appeared in the background of a scene from the 1960 film Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
in which the character Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
) crossed the street with the deposit she was supposed to make for her boss.
Luhrs Tower should not be confused with the adjacent Luhrs Building
Luhrs Building
The Luhrs Building is an historic ten-story building located at 11 West Jefferson in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It was built at a cost of $553,000 USD by local businessman George Luhrs and opened on April 1, 1924. The building's four upper floors housed the facilities of the Arizona Club, including...
, which was built in 1924.
