Salinas Valley Savings & Loan (1962)

Architects Melvin Rojko, W.A. Sarmiento, and Thomas Ecoff of the Bank Building & Equipment Corporation of America designed this butterfly roof bank for the Salinas Valley Savings & Loan on Salinas, CA.  The two story building provided an open floor plan design with transparency straight through the full two story glass curtain wall window on the street.  The design of the building is in fact a mini version of the original design for Newport Balboa Savings in Newport, California (1954).  Though they were eight years apart in completion, their cues are unmistakable from Sarmiento’s original butterfly-roof design at Newport right down to the matching blue color pattern, striated stacked stone, and ninety-degree angle eave.  Since, the building has operated as a branch for Chase Bank and Washington Mutual.

Photo credits: Arnold Del Carlo, hmdavid on flickr, postcard courtesy of Heather David, and japanesejack on flickr.