[Source: Vince Murray, Arizona Republic] --Two and a half months ago, Arizona State University removed the golden geodesic dome from a former bank building and razed the rest of the structure. Now, the building (pictured) is gone and one would think that was the end of the controversy. However, there is more to the story than most people know and certainly more that they should. Though it seemed at the time to be a local issue, one confined to the Southeast Valley, all Arizonans should be concerned about the issues that led to the day ASU demolished the former Valley National Bank building at Rural Road and Apache Boulevard. With the recent restoration of Old Main and other properties on campus, most advocates for historic preservation thought ASU had changed course from the legacy it set in 1986 when it disassembled the Frankenburg House to build a new Architecture College. The home sat in storage for years until it was reassembled on another site.ASU had often asserted that it wanted to be more holistic in its dealings with the community - specifically the citizens of Tempe - and everyone looked forward to them doing so. Then, in 2004, the drive-through First National Bank building at University Drive and Mill Avenue was demolished. In this earlier case of old bank versus New American University, we were told the university planned to build an Art and Business Gateway at the site. After a review by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), it was determined that the integrity of the motor bank had been altered enough that it was ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places and therefore not officially "historic." This descriptive appellation is important because an individual can consider anything historic, but for it to be historic in the eyes of the state, it must have some determination as such by the SHPO. The SHPO, in turn, uses standards based on federal historic preservation laws. Usually one of these requirements is that the building be at least 50 years old. However, in the case of the former Valley National Bank building, or the nearby Gammage Auditorium, age isn't as much of a factor as architecture and location. In fact, Gammage was built two years after the bank and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.
ASU: bank in the way
According to ASU's Comprehensive Development Plan, one of the planning principals for the Tempe campus is to "create a campus which is responsive to the unique history, place, climate and sustainability of our region." These were just words, though, for in this same document ASU subtly detailed how the Valley National Bank building -- the epitome of the unique history, place, climate and sustainability of Tempe -- was to be replaced by a residential life complex. Almost two years later, ASU notified the SHPO the former bank building, which the university had been using as a visitors center for the last two decades, was in the way of progress. ASU asked the SHPO what measures it needed to take to deal with the building that was in the new Barrett Honors College's "potential area of effect." This is important, because Arizona Revised Statutes requires state agencies such as ASU to consider existing historic structures in their undertakings. While it can be expected that not all historic buildings will be preserved under this law, it was written with the intention that state agencies will at least try to save the cultural resources under their control.
[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Walt Lockley.]
