Update March 16, 2021

Last month, Modern Phoenix reported that after over a year of vacancy, the former Western Savings Bank, designed by W.A. Sarmiento, has a new owner. The building will now be the home of Tombstone Tactical, a gun store. Some expressed disappointment over the new use, while at the same time being grateful that the building has found a new use. Thank you to all the advocates in Phoenix who helped bring attention to this unique piece of the city's architectural history.

November 20, 2019

Peruvian-born architect Wenceslao Alfonso Sarmiento, also known as W.A. Sarmiento, studied with Oscar Niemeyer before heading to the U.S. where he got a job as head designer for the St. Louis-based Bank Building & Equipment Corporation of America and later started his own firm. He designed hundreds of banks and other buildings in the postwar years of bank modernization in downtowns.

One of the banks he designed is the Western Savings Bank at Metrocenter in Phoenix, AZ, completed in 1974, which was later adapted and used for many years as the "Souper! Salad!" restaurant. Originally, the building was intended to be part of a redevelopment project involving a transit station at Metrocenter, but it is now being offered for sale or lease. A package that includes the sale specifications states that the property "can be repurposed, altered or demolished. No limitations exist for potential user."

Docomomo US and Modern Phoenix are hoping to help identify a buyer who will prefer the former options.