In 1962, Hansen was hired to help create a unique new building for the Clark County Title Co. at 110 East 11th St. in downtown Vancouver. The building would essentially serve as a fire-protected “vault” for important property records, with very few windows and an open interior office area.
The Brutalist-style building was designed by local architect Henry G. Greybrook, who would later work on Vancouver’s iconic Smith Tower. For the project, Hansen would design and cast 90 5-foot by 5-foot sculptural panels out of white Portland cement at his Burnt Bridge Studio. The panels were designed to stand alone and could be mounted in any configuration. They added a three dimensional aspect to the exterior of the building, which also carried through into the main entrance. The Clark County Title Co. building was completed in March 1963.
Eventually, the Clark County Title Co. outgrew the building and the City of Vancouver purchased it as a companion building to its Citizen Service Center, located at 1313 Main St. In 2007, the City consolidated its offices into a new City Hall on West Sixth Street and sold both buildings to IQ Credit Union.
In 2019, IQ Credit Union announced plans to demolish the Clark County Title Co. building. Before that happened, the City was able to salvage 32 of Hansen’s sculptural panels for use as public art.
MORE TO COME . . .
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