Heard Building Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Heard Building
North of the Heard Building looking southwest down Central
General information
Type	Store / Office
Location	112 N. Central Avenue Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Coordinates	33°26′59″N 112°04′24″W / 33.4497°N 112.0733°W / 33.4497; -112.0733
Construction started	September 02, 1919
Opened	December 28, 1920
Height
Roof	93' 4 1/2"
Technical details
Floor count	8
Lifts/elevators	3


Heard Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Architect	Llewellyn A. Parker
MPS	Phoenix Commercial MRA (AD)
NRHP reference No.	85002059
Added to NRHP	September 4, 1985

The Heard Building is a tall, 7-story building in Phoenix, Arizona. It is also known as the Greater Arizona Savings Building. From 1920 to 1948, it was home to the offices of two major newspapers, The Arizona Republic and the Phoenix Gazette.

This building was constructed between 1919 and 1920. It was the very first high-rise building ever built in Phoenix. For four years, it was the tallest building in Arizona. This changed when the Luhrs Building was finished in 1924.

Building History
- Who Designed and Built It?
- Built to Last: Fire Safety
Newspaper Headquarters
Modernizing the Building
KTAR Radio Station
Gallery
Images for kids
See also

Building History

Construction of the Heard Building started on September 2, 1919. It was paid for by Dwight B. Heard and his company, Commonwealth Investment. Mr. Heard wanted a new place for his businesses, especially his publishing companies.

Who Designed and Built It?

The building was designed by Llewellyn Adelbert Parker. He was an architect who also designed other buildings in the Phoenix area. These included the Central Avenue Bridge and the Goodrich Building.

James William Martin was the main builder for the project. He oversaw all the construction work. Other companies handled specific parts, like plumbing and heating. A Scottish builder named Duncan MacDonald and his team plastered the building. This part of the work took them eight months to finish.

Built to Last: Fire Safety

In 1910, a big fire destroyed the Adams Hotel. Because of this, Dwight B. Heard decided that all his future buildings would be made of concrete. This would help prevent fires. The Heard Building was built with a strong frame of reinforced concrete. Even though there were a few small fires over the years, they were put out quickly. There was very little damage.

In December 1951, the Heard Building was sold. A group of investors from New York bought it for $710,000.

Newspaper Headquarters

When the Heard Building first opened in 1920, the Arizona Republican newspaper used most of the first floor. They also had their printing presses in the basement.

In 1930, the Arizona Publishing Company bought the Phoenix Gazette newspaper. This company also owned the Arizona Republic. The Phoenix Gazette employees moved into the Republican's offices on the first floor.

Both newspapers were sold again in 1946 to Eugene C. Pulliam. In 1948, the newspapers moved to a new headquarters building.

Modernizing the Building

In December 1937, a big project began to update the Heard Building. The goal was to make the outside look more modern. They also wanted to make the offices of the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette bigger.

To make space, Dwight B. Heard's own investment company offices moved from the first floor to the third floor. The William Peper Construction Company was hired for this job. The project was led by E. W. Larson and William Peper. New architectural plans were drawn by Lescher and Mahoney. The work was expected to take about 60 days.

The building also got new, modern elevators that could level automatically. The air conditioning system had been improved the year before.

KTAR Radio Station

In November 1929, the Arizona Publishing Company bought a local radio station called KFAD. They later changed its name to KTAR. This name stood for "Keep Taking Arizona Republic."

In 1930, a powerful 1000-watt radio station was set up on the 7th floor of the Heard Building. Two tall 180 ft (55 m) towers were put on the roof. These towers held up the radio antenna.

As the radio station grew, it needed more power. In 1941, KTAR moved its main transmitting equipment to a new, larger plant. This new plant was located at 36th Street and Thomas Road. However, the radio station's operations and studios were still run from the top of the Heard Building.

In 1944, an advertiser named John J. Louis, Sr. from Chicago, Illinois bought the station. The radio studio eventually moved to a new location in the early 1950s.