The Phoenix Financial Center is one of my all-time favorite pieces of Phoenix architectural history. This modern International style complex was designed by Wenceslaus Sarmiento and completed in 1968. Many folks here in Phoenix know this place by its nickname, the Punchcard Building, as it resembles a punch card from early computers.
My favorite piece of the Phoenix Financial Center are these dendriform style coverings over the drive-up teller machines along Osborn Road. They remind me of the dendriform columns used in Frank Henry’s Dendriform Column Bank on Camelback Road. Often overlooked, two or three of these UFO-like structures stand right along the sidewalk as if about to land in the parking lot. While I shot these cool structures, I felt as if I was witnessing an alien invasion.
If you are in Phoenix looking for a cool midcentury modern building to Photograph, stop by the Phoenix Financial Center on Central and Osborn. I suggest shooting from the sidewalks along either road because I’ve been asked to leave by security guards for photographing the building from its main parking lot.