Walker Center, Salt Lake City

The Walker Center, formerly known as the Walker Bank Building, is a prominent historical skyscraper in Salt Lake City. Opened on December 9, 1912, this building quickly became a city landmark as the tallest structure between Chicago and San Francisco at the time. Originally built as the headquarters for Walker Bank, established by the Walker brothers—Samuel, Joseph, David, and Matthew—in 1859, it housed a variety of businesses in its basement, from a barbershop and florist to a cigar store. The main floor served as the bank lobby, while the upper floors provided office space.

Designed by the Saint Louis architecture firm Eames and Young, the Walker Center is a prime example of Chicago school architecture. Its blend of modern style and excellent location attracted many notable tenants over the years. The Walker Bank occupied the building until merging with First Interstate Bancorp in 1981, which later became part of Wells Fargo. Today, the Walker Center operates as a multi-use office space, managed by Colliers, continuing its legacy in Salt Lake City.

One of the building’s most recognizable features is its 64-foot weather tower, installed by a local radio station in the 1940s. Initially a radio transmission tower, it was later converted into an illuminated weather signal, with color codes indicating the forecast: solid blue for clear skies, flashing blue for clouds, solid red for rain, and flashing red for snow. Though the tower was removed in the 1980s due to city ordinances, it was reinstalled in 2008 with modern safety upgrades. In 2021, the lighting was upgraded to LED, allowing the tower to display a range of colors for holidays and events, in addition to its traditional weather signals.

The Walker Center was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, further cementing its status as a historical and architectural landmark in Salt Lake City.