Caution - Valley National Bank

A friend, recently, stopped by The Clarendon Hotel, and revealed a stack of letterhead from the Valley National Bank, including the CAUTION sheet meant to informing staff of a paper shortage. Caution is quite appropriate for this vacant Art Deco skyscraper located on Central Ave. and Monroe St, called the Professional Building. Was supposed to become The Hotel Monroe, a boutique hotel, until the lender, Mortgages Ltd. went bankrupt, following its CEO’s suicide. The building was recently in escrow with Evergreen Devco, but word is that it expired. So, the fate of this streamlined beauty, is unknown? 


Built in 1932,and stands at 171 feet tall. The Professional Building originally was the result of combining the office space needs of Maricopa County Medical Society and the Valley Bank and Trust Company.

The building appears in the opening pan of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho, the building and the rotating sign were a part of the then-skyline of downtown Phoenix.That sign was the world's largest rotating sign and was designed by the Valley's iconic designer Glenn Guyett. That same year a saw the addition of another floor and  placement a obvious 45 degree angle wall of windows. 1993, the building was place on the National resister of historic places. But, CAUTION what will become of this vacant beauty?