United Life Building -- Salina KS
N 38° 50.415 W 097° 36.611
14S E 620619 N 4299966
Charles Shaver designed the United Life Building in 1929. A wonderful example of Art Deco style, the United Building's multi-colored terra-cotta details make it extra special.
Waymark Code: WMGZ4Q
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 04/26/2013
Views: 3
The United Life Building is a magical frosted Art Deco beauty that you simply cannot miss: it is the tallest building in Salina. If you still need an address, it is located at 7th and Iron Streets downtown.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the United Life Building was featured on postcards that showed off Salina's best side to the world. The postcard is from cardcow.com. The 1929 photo credit is owed to the City of Salina Historic Preservation Commission.
From Design Guidelines for Downtown Salina: (
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Salina's most influential architect, Charles W. Shaver, was particularly adept at Romantic Revival design in both commercial and residential structures. He designed the majority of Salina's exceptional commercial architecture between 1915 and 1940.
His use of the Spanish Revival style and polychromatic terra cotta as a building material gives downtown Salina a unique character. Two outstanding examples of his work are the United Life Building, 119 W. Iron, built in 1929, and the former Fox-Watson (Now Stiefel) Theatre, 151 S. Santa Fe Avenue, built in 1931.
The ten-story Art Deco United Life Building, the tallest building in Salina, features polychromatic terra cotta." [end]