First Federal Savings and Loan (c. 1957)
This building designed by the Bank Building & Equipment Corporation appears from documentation to be a mostly masonry structure, which would exhibit its position when the company was moving from steel and glass structures in the 1950s to more masonry structures in the 1960s. Architectural elements that form a bridge between the two decades of design for the corporation include the prominent, sleek, sandwich signage tower, which is at the corner of the building and the street but incorporated into the building as a design element, and the louvers over a large set of windows. As in most Bank Building & Equipment Corporation designs, the mass of solid and void (though covered by louvers) is a playful and colorful juxtaposition that is considered through the design’s materials, colors, rhythm and proportion. The building was most recently a Citibank Financial Center.
