Right ahead of you is the Luhrs Building, and trust me, you can’t miss it! Look up and spot the tall, L-shaped, brown-brick building with huge, fancy marble details decorating the top two floors. The windows stretch up ten stories, and if you glance upwards, you’ll notice the grand arches right under the heavy cornice at the very top. There’s nothing else in Phoenix’s downtown with such old-school elegance-just imagine it towering above everything back in 1924.
Picture yourself here a hundred years ago. The building is brand-new, the tallest in Phoenix, built at a whopping cost of $553,000-enough to buy, well, a LOT of cacti! George H. N. Luhrs himself, who helped shape early Phoenix as a city council member, made sure his name would be set in stone… or at least in bricks and marble.
Through these doors, the US Treasury once collected its taxes, and powerful oil men from Standard Oil strode across marble floors on the 6th floor. But the real party was upstairs-the Arizona Club ruled the top four floors, complete with lush lounges, a grand library, and club members living large. Imagine sneaking past with a tray of drinks, the air filled with laughter and clinking glasses!
Fast forward to today, where the Moxy Phoenix Downtown has taken over, giving the old bones new life-and let’s not forget Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour on the ground floor, winning awards for cocktails and likely a few hangovers too.
With its classic Beaux-Arts style, the Luhrs Building stands as a living piece of Phoenix history, blending past and present. So, if you feel a sudden urge for a fancy cocktail, or maybe the spirit of a roaring ‘20s partygoer brushing past you... don’t be surprised!
