Walker Center

	Walker Bank Building
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Night view of the Walker Center, May 2009
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Location	175 South Main Street; Salt Lake City, Utah; United States
Coordinates	40°45′55″N 111°53′24″W / 40.76528°N 111.89000°WCoordinates: 40°45′55″N 111°53′24″W / 40.76528°N 111.89000°W
Built	1911
Architect	Eames and Young; Stewart, James & Co.
Architectural style	Skyscraper
NRHP reference No.	06000929
Added to NRHP	October 04, 2006

Walker Center (formerly Walker Bank Building) is a skyscraper in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

Description[]

The Walker Center from 200 South

The building was opened on December 9, 1912, taking a little over a year to be built. At the time of its completion, it stood as the tallest building between Chicago and San Francisco (16 stories, 67 m). It was originally constructed as the headquarters for Walker Bank, founded by the Walker brothers: Samuel Sharp, Joseph Robinson, David Frederick, and Matthew Walker, Jr. The basement originally contained the vault for the bank, as well as a barbershop, florist, cigar store, and other shops. The main floor contained the bank, and upper floors were used as office space.^[2] It was designed by the St. Louis, Missouri-based architecture firm Eames and Young.^[3] It remained the headquarters of Walker Bank until it merged with First Interstate Bancorp in 1981 (it is now part of Wells Fargo).

Weather Tower[]

The Walker Center is topped by a 64-foot weather tower, which gives a weather forecast based on the color of the lights. The weather tower was taken down in the 1980s due to a city ordinance but replaced in 2008. The meaning of the tower colors are:

Blue: clear skies
Flashing blue: cloudy skies
Red: rain
Flashing red: snow^[4]

In December 2021, work began to upgrade the outdated neon glass tubes to GLLS LED Neon Flex. While the weather forecast will still be broadcast, the tower now will have "any color under the rainbow, as well as various animation effects” to engage with the community for various holidays and events.^[5]