Westward Ho Renovations

Everyone involved was excited about the Westward Ho Renovation. Built in 1928, the 350-room hotel was visited by presidents and movie stars alike in its time. Now it's an apartment building for seniors and disabled people.

From the outside, it resembles a bland fortress. However, the inside boasts a beautiful courtyard, with a lovely tile fountain in its midst and a full size swimming pool. On what we have come to know as the 'J Building', the center tower and balconies on the west wing are encrusted with Mosaic tile in a traditional Southwest design. The 240-foot metal tower and 40-foot antenna atop this lovely building is beauty only in the eye of the beholder. The windows surrounding the 15th floor are fragment remainders of a Gentleman's Club of long ago. Those large windows cover some of the original architecture, such as pillars and the building's structure. In 1949, the steel tower was erected to broadcast Phoenix's first television station, KPHO. Now it functions as a cell tower.

The tower building at the Westward Ho received exterior skin upgrades in 2003 that included the removal of window-mounted air conditioning units (originally installed in the late 1970’s when the building was first converted from hotel to apartment use), replacement of approximately 450 steel sash casement windows with insulated aluminum windows, power washing, stucco repairs, application of sealant, and re-painting to match the original integral 1928 stucco finish.