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Gary Brooks, the developer of the 1931 First National Center, invited the public for tours before closing doors for three years to begin a $230 million makeover into a mix of housing, hotel, retail and garage.
The skyscraper’s showstoppers are the iconic Great Banking Hall that is like a palace with its ornate, three-story space surrounded by 16 columns 35 feet tall and travertine marble floors from Italy; and a bank vault with massive steel doors for protection from bank robberies, common during the 1930s.
“The history of First National Center is as important as its future,” said Brooks.
— Brenda Jones Barwick, APR, Jones PR
