Grunow Memorial Medical Center Renovation

This historic Spanish Colonial Revival building was named for Lois Anita Grunow, who died in 1929 at the age of 7 from a ruptured appendix. Her parents built the clinic, recognizable by its distinctive bas-relief façade etched with elaborate stone carvings. It is the only Phoenix historic building that retains is original use as a medical facility. Its two-story open lobby features stonework, wall murals and high windows that let in late-afternoon light. Appointed with period-correct furniture, the lobby still includes a series of paintings — one of them a portrait of little Lois — commissioned by Maximilian Aurel Reinitz Rasko, a noted artist popular at the time of the building’s dedication in 1931.

The renovation included site modifications to landscape, parking, courtyard spaces, signage, new exterior windows and paint. The interior work included updating the public areas including restrooms, corridors, lighting and new artwork.