First Bank and Trust Tower, Office skyscraper in Central Business District, New Orleans, US.
The First Bank and Trust Tower is a 36-story office building rising 481 feet (147 meters) in New Orleans' central business district. Its facade combines granite walls with bronze-tinted glass panels, giving the structure a contemporary look.
Welton Becket & Associates designed and completed this tower in 1987 as a postmodern office building. It stands as one of the five tallest buildings in both New Orleans and Louisiana.
At the Poydras Street entrance stand two bronze figures by Enrique Alférez: a depiction of David and a lute player. Alférez, a Mexican-born sculptor, spent decades in New Orleans, and these works place his figures at the threshold of a 1987 postmodern tower.
The tower occupies the block bounded by Poydras Street, O'Keefe Avenue, Perdido Street and Penn Street. The seven parking levels are entered from O'Keefe Avenue, while the main entrance faces Poydras Street, where the two bronze sculptures stand. Fifteen elevators serve the office floors above the parking.
Hurricane Katrina caused window and roof damage to the building in 2005, yet it reopened to tenants after repairs. This quick recovery showed the strength of its construction and its importance to the local business community.
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