TheLastGentleman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:08 pm
moderne wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:43 am
The UMB tower was not to have been over what is built, but built across the north end of the block, similar in footprint to the Commerce Bank building.
Would have required demo of the old HSA building at the corner of 10th and Grand. With the current trend of rooftop signage would like to see the old rooftop Continental sign restored. It was quite prominent.
It’s amazing, everyone seems to have a different opinion on where the tower was meant to go! I’ve heard that it was intended to be built on top of the northwest corner, on top of the northeast corner, in place of nearby buildings, and even that the whole building was engineered to be built taller!
At some point I’ve spoken to a person who was an intern at the firm which designed the building, and he says it was definitely intended to go on top of the existing structure, though he couldn’t remember which corner
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darrell_james/4677058822/
they took this from their website years ago
The first design for this bank was submitted by noted architect I.M. Pei, of New York, NY. It featured two triangular towers, ten stories, filling a city block, with a giant cut between, on the diagonal, like a cheese sandwich.
Ultimately, the design was scaled back, and the firm Abend-Singleton designed the final product. It has a 3-story side, and a 6-story side, but the structural capability to go UP, if necessary.
The opposing triangular towers design was used, and there is a large diagonal cut, providing fountains and natural light.
My guess, it's not one corner that was going to be expanded up but three of them. The structure is designed with the bank branch on the west side at ground level and the main building entry on Grand a story up. There's an interior courtyard with an escalator connecting the two and the lower ground level is filled with art, or was for many years if not still