Haas Building, 2610 East Broadway, Tucson

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS AZ-233. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Haas Building was built in for the Desert Guild in and designed by Anne Rysdale, the only practicing female architect in Arizona at the time. The two-story glass storefront and geometric design contribute to the transition of Tucson to a modern metropolis. Located on Sunshine Mile of Broadway Boulevard, a primary corridor connecting motorists from East Tucson to Downtown, the thirty-foot-high building stood out from its single-story neighbors. By providing space for large scale signage to attract passing motorists the Haas Building reflects the post WWII economic boom and the American Dream.

Description: Sited on the south side of Broadway Boulevard, a major corridor through the city, the north fa ade of the Haas Building utilizes height and a simple and elegant geometric design to grab the attention of passing motorists. The 30 high building is a stark contrast from its single-story neighbors. The north fa ade is divided into three 10 high vertical segments. The bottom two segments are comprised of a glass curtain wall to expose the double height lobby on the interior. In the original design, the glass curtain wall was bisected with a single vertical mullion to create the appearance of four squares of 10 x 10 each.

Today, the curtain wall is comprised of five vertical mullions, resulting in twelve equal glass panels measuring 3 x 10 , with one of these panels becoming the entry door. The top segment of the North fa ade provides a space for large scale signage to attract passing by motorist along the Sunshine Mile, with the only modifications being the paint color and tenant signs themselves. The two-story glass curtain wall acts as a frame to display the design of the lobby behind, combined by three major elements; a suspended steel stair, pendant bubble light fixture, and planter. The stair and bubble light fixture are from the original design, and it appears the planter was a future modification as it is not shown in the available Haas Building drawings.

The steel stairs appear to be floating within the double height lobby space. The stair risers, landing, and mezzanine above are supported by 8 steel beams. The beams are painted white to minimize their presence and give the appearance that the stairs are suspended within the frame of the glass curtain wall. HAAS BUILDING HABS No. AZ-233 (page 2) Curving beneath the stair landing is a 16 -high brick wall containing a space for potted plants, thriving in the flood of northern light from glass curtain wall. The floor finish of this planter space is the exposed concrete slab. Floating above the stairs, centered within the lobby space is the original pendant lighting fixture with six glass bulbs spiraling up toward the ceiling.

The floor finish of the lobby space is terra cotta tiles of a hexagonal pattern. It is not clear if the tile is original to the design. The walls are finished with white paint and the ceiling with a textured popcorn. Situated south of the front, double height lobby, is a secondary lobby space providing furniture for waiting customers as well as a reception desk. An interior curtain wall acts as the threshold between the front and secondary lobby. This curtain wall is comprised of 3 glass panels overhead and provided with a wood trim around the threshold opening. The glass panel is full height between the planter and reception desk.

This curtain wall is original to the design; however, glass panels have been modified to provide a larger opening between the front lobby and secondary lobby space. This secondary lobby space was originally a part of a much larger display space for the Desert Guild. Overtime, offices have been constructed within this space to accommodate new tenants. History: The modernist movement in America was a result of post WWII economic boom, and much of the architecture currently reflected the new American dream. As people moved out of Downtown Tucson to suburban neighborhoods, commercial development began to focus on providing amenities to support these growing neighborhoods.

The so-called Sunshine Mile commercial thoroughfare was a direct result of this shift in focus to a metropolis centered around the automobile. The Haas Building was designed specifically to attract the motorists passing by, and the design of the storefront becomes vital to fulfill this purpose. By displaying modern design features such as the floating staircase and bubble pendant light, this storefront is a direct reflection of Tucson s transition to a modern metropolis. The Haas Building was built in by local architect Anne Rysdale. As the only female architect practicing in the state of Arizona at the time, Rysdale made great effort to fight gender biases in the field. She helped incorporate an anonymous application system to become a registered architect in the state.

In the late Rysdale shifted her focus from residential architecture to commercial, and designed many significant buildings in Tucson including the Tucson Inn and the Shelter Cocktail Lounge. The Haas Building was design and built for the Desert Guild in This design was approximately 20 -8 wide, 60 in depth, and 30 in height. In Rysdale was hired to construct an addition and tenant improvement to provide an HAAS BUILDING HABS No. AZ-233 (page 3) apartment and shop space for Phillip Haas. From to current day, the interior of the Haas Building has been heavily modified to accommodate commercial tenants and has lost much of its historical significance. The North fa ade and lobby space, however, have remained relatively unchanged since the building s construction.

Cosmetic modifications include the addition of carpet to the secondary lobby space and the planter space under the stairs. One of the ore significant changes is the addition of mullions to the curtain wall. In the original design, the glass curtain wall was bisected with a single vertical mullion to create the appearance of four squares of 10 x 10 . Today, the curtain wall is comprised of five vertical mullions, resulting in twelve equal glass panels measuring 3 in width and 10 in height, with one of these panels being the entry door. This modification alters the geometric proportions of the front fa ade but provides more economical solutions for repair or replacement to the curtain wall system.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS AZ-233. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, "Anne Rysdale Accessed September 9, Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, "Broadway Boulevard | Sunshine Mile," Accessed September 9, Arizona Public Media, "Tucson Architect Made Mark on City, Forged Way for Women," Accessed September 9, for-women/. State of Arizona. Historic Property Inventory Form. Arizona: U.S. State Historic Preservation Office,