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 Old Studebaker dealership buildings tend not to attract the attention
of big-city mayors or generate headline news these days. One in
Phoenix, however, has proved the exception to that rule when demolition
began on it earlier this month, prompting preservationists and that
city's mayor alike to condemn the developer responsible.
Designed by architect W.Z. Smith and built in 1947,
shortly after Studebaker introduced its new postwar cars, the Stewart
Motors Co. building - named after the dealer that built it in the heart
of Phoenix's Auto Row along Central Avenue
- incorporated a turntable in its glassed-in corner showroom along with
numerous Streamline Moderne elements all rendered in brick, with nary a
wagon wheel in sight. As described on Modern Phoenix, the building created "a joyful dialogue with the streetscape, which is pleasant to enjoy both on foot or by car."
Why is this atypical building so sentimental for some Phoenicians?
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Re: Despite Preservationists’ Outcry, Demolition Begins on Iconic Phoenix Studebaker Dealership
