Simms Building
Encyclopedia
The Simms Building in downtown
Albuquerque, New Mexico
was the city's first modern, International Style
skyscraper
. It was built in 1954, making it a contemporary of the similar Lever House
in New York City
. The building is located at 400 Gold Avenue SW, which was originally the location of the old sandstone Commercial Club building. The Simms Building is 55 m (180.4 ft) with 13 floors, which made it the tallest building in the state until the Bank of the West Tower was built 9 years later. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1998.
Like the neighboring Gold Building
, the Simms Building has windowless brick walls on the east and west sides and glass curtain walls on the other two faces, designed by the firm Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn, that also credited for the Dennis Chavez Federal Building
one block to the west.
The Simms Building is used in Breaking Bad
as the DEA office of show character, DEA Agent Hank Schrader. Ironically there is a historic Federal Building in the same block, the Federal Building and United States Courthouse, built in 1930, located at 421 Gold Avenue SW in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is part of the complex of federal buildings on Gold Avenue that includes the Old Post Office, Dennis Chavez Federal Building, and the Federal Building at 517 Gold Avenue SW.
Downtown Albuquerque
Downtown Albuquerque is the central business district of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is where a large number of the city's highrise buildings are located, as well as being the center of government and business for the region....
Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
was the city's first modern, International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
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...
. It was built in 1954, making it a contemporary of the similar Lever House
Lever House
Lever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The building is located at 400 Gold Avenue SW, which was originally the location of the old sandstone Commercial Club building. The Simms Building is 55 m (180.4 ft) with 13 floors, which made it the tallest building in the state until the Bank of the West Tower was built 9 years later. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1998.
Like the neighboring Gold Building
Gold Building
The Gold Building is a 14-story office building located at 320 Gold Avenue SW in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. When the building was completed in 1968 it was one of the tallest in the city at 62 m . It now ranks sixth.The building is rectangular in plan and sits on a larger one-story base...
, the Simms Building has windowless brick walls on the east and west sides and glass curtain walls on the other two faces, designed by the firm Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn, that also credited for the Dennis Chavez Federal Building
Dennis Chavez Federal Building
The Dennis Chavez Federal Building, named for a long time former United States Senator, is a highrise building located at 500 Gold Avenue SW in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. The building was built in 1972 to concentrate various federal agencies, including the post office and federal courthouse,...
one block to the west.
The Simms Building is used in Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
as the DEA office of show character, DEA Agent Hank Schrader. Ironically there is a historic Federal Building in the same block, the Federal Building and United States Courthouse, built in 1930, located at 421 Gold Avenue SW in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is part of the complex of federal buildings on Gold Avenue that includes the Old Post Office, Dennis Chavez Federal Building, and the Federal Building at 517 Gold Avenue SW.