Edward Leighton Varney Jr. (1914–1998) was an American

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

architect working in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

from 1937 until his retirement in 1985. He designed the

Hotel Valley Ho Hotel Valley Ho is a historic hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. Also called the Valley Ho and, for 28 years, the Ramada Valley Ho, the hotel was originally designed by Edward L. Varney. It first opened in 1956''Travel + Leisure'', 2009"Hotel Valley Ho ...

in Scottsdale, and

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Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. In 1941 began his career, which would extend to his retirement in 1985. His firm would continue designing buildings into the 1990s. ASU Interdisciplinary A

Life and career

Edward Leighton Varney Jr. was born on October 11, 1914, in

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

, California, the son of Edward Leighton, and Frances Deane, Varney. He attended the University of California at Berkeley before transferring to the University Southern California where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture in 1938. That same year he moved to Phoenix and took a job with O.A. Bell Architects working as a draftsman on the Arizona Capital addition. In 1941 he partnerd with Charles Gilmore and started the firm of Gilmore & Varney. In 1946 after Charles Gilmore unexpectedly died of a heart attack, Varney reorganized his firm into, Edward L. Varney Associates. He was soon joined by Reginald Sydnor, and Robert Sexton and in 1965 the firm was reorganized into Varney, Sexton, Sydnor Associates. Varney's firm specialized in designing industrial facilities such as those for

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

Sperry Rand Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Sperry ceased to exist in 1986 following a prolonged hostile takeover bid engineered by Burroughs ...

and

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. The firm also specialized in educational structures designing several buildings on the Tempe campus of

as well as many schools for the local school districts. Varney is credited with mentoring some influential architects in Arizona, including

Ralph Haver Ralph Haver (1915-1987) was an architect working in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, USA, from 1945 until the early 1980s. Haver designed the Mid-Century Modern ''Haver Homes'', affordable tract housing executed in a contemporary modern style. ...

, Richard E. Drover, and Frederick P. Weaver. in 1971 Varney was made a fellow in the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

. In 1980 Reginald Sydnor a partner in the firm took early retirement. The firm was subsequently reorganized into Varney, Sexton, Lunsford, Aye Associates with John C. Lunsford and Khin Aye becoming partners. Varney retired in 1985 and died on June 30, 1998. After Varney retired the firm would continue under the same name with Robert Sexton Serving as president. The firm continued designing many large scale projects well into the 1990s.

Selected works

Works by Varney's firm include: As Gilmore & Varney (1941-1946) * 1941-1942 Litchefield Subdivision, Goodyear, AZ *1942 Van Dorn Home, Phoenix, AZ *1942 Yuma Army Airport, Yuma, AZ *1943 Maricopa County Health Center, Phoenix, AZ (Demolished) *1945 Machan Elementray School, Phoenix, AZ (Demolished) *1945 Marcus Lawrence Memorial Clinic, Cottonwood, AZ *1945 Winslow City Jail, Winslow, AZ *1945 Newberry Electric Corporation, Phoenix, AZ *1945 Neil B. McGinnis Equipment Company (Now The Vintage 45) Phoenix, AZ *1945 St. Agnes Catholic Church, Phoenix, AZ *1945 Sacred Heart Church School, Mesa, AZ * 1946 Phoenix Merchandise Mart, Phoenix, AZ * 1946 Encanto Village shopping center, Phoenix, AZ * 1946 Village Drive-In, Phoenix, AZ (Demolished) As Edward L. Varney Associates (1946-1965) *1947 Home for Mr. B. D. Tade, Phoenix, AZ *1947 Flagstaff High School Gymnasium, Flagstaff, AZ *1947-1949 West High School, Phoenix, AZ (with

Lescher & Mahoney Lescher & Mahoney was an American architectural firm from Phoenix, Arizona. History The firm was established in 1910 by Royal W. Lescher (1882–1957). Lescher practiced alone until 1912, when he took John R. Kibbey (1883–1963) as a ...

, H. H. Green and Edwin Dwight Chenault) *1948 Winslow Grammar School, Winslow, AZ *1948 Chandler Elementary School, Chandler, AZ *1948 Renovation of Coles Furniture Store, Phoenix, AZ *1948 Canada Dry Bottling Plant, Phoenix, AZ (Demolished) *1948 Sunnyslope School, Phoenix, AZ (Demolished) * 1948 Valley Garden Center, Phoenix, AZ *1948 Washington Woman's Club, Phoenix, AZ *1949 Shipping Center, 901-915 N 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ *1949 Expansion of First Baptist Church, Phoenix, AZ *1949 Home for O. D. Miller, Phoenix, AZ *1949 Renovation of Paul Bennet Goodyear Tire Store, Phoenix, AZ *1949

Phoenix College Phoenix College (PC) is a public community college in Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest community colleges in the country. History The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union High School and Junio ...

Home Economics Building, Phoenix, AZ (with Lescher & Mahoney) *1949 Arizona Country Club (clubhouse), Phoenix, AZ *1949 Flagstaff Airport Administration Building, Flagstaff, AZ (with

William Francis Cody William Francis Cody (1916 – 1978) was an influential desert modern architect working in Palm Springs during the peak of the Modern Architecture Movement. Like many of the architects during the mid-20th century, Cody designed almost anything Pal ...

) *1949 Yuma Airport Administration Building, Yuma, AZ *1949 Covenant Presbyterian Church, Phoenix, AZ *1949 Douglas High School, Douglas, AZ *1950 Home in Sun View Estates, Phoenix, AZ *1950 Monterey School (now Monterey Park School) Phoenix, AZ *1950 Roosevelt Counsel Boy Scouts of America Center, Phoenix, AZ (Demolished) *1950 Phoenix Fire Station No. 9 (now SAB Southwest Architectural Builders) Phoenix, AZ * 1950 Motorola 56th Street research facility (now Great Hearts Academy) Phoenix, AZ (significantly altered) *1950 Valley National Bank Branch (now Bank of the West) Winslow, AZ * 1950-1951 Administration Buildings,

(now Interdisciplinary buildings A and B) Tempe, AZ *1951 Expansion of Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ * 1952 First National Bank of Arizona Branch (now Rock of Salvation Ministries) Phoenix, AZ * 1953 Paradise Valley Country Club, Paradise Valley, AZ (Demolished) * 1953

Sunnyslope High School Sunnyslope High School is in the Glendale Union High School District in Phoenix, Arizona and offers courses for grades 9–12. Description Sunnyslope was designed by the local architecture firm Edward L. Varney Associates. The construction con ...

, Phoenix, AZ *1954

Camelback High School Camelback High School is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. The campus is located at 4612 North 28th Street, northeast of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Camelback's enrollment is just over 2,000 students, over 75 percent o ...

, Phoenix, AZ *1954

South Mountain High School South Mountain High School (The Academies at South Mountain) is a high school located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. Overview The school was founded in 1954. The school shares its name with S ...

, Phoenix, AZ *1954 General Electric Supply Company Plant, Phoenix, AZ *1954 Camelback Inn Cholla Room Restaurant, Phoenix, AZ * 1955 Washington High School, Phoenix, AZ * 1956 Motorola 52nd Street Semiconductor Plant (now

ON semiconductor onsemi (stylized in lowercase; legally ON Semiconductor Corporation; formerly ON Semiconductor until August 5, 2021) is an American semiconductor supplier company, based in Phoenix, Arizona and ranked #483 on the 2022 ''Fortune'' 500 based on it ...

) Phoenix, AZ * 1956 Sperry Rand Deer Valley Plant (now Honeywell Aerospace) Phoenix, AZ * 1956

, Scottsdale, AZ *1956 Mountain States Telephone Building, Albuquerque, NM *1957

Bisbee High School Bisbee High School is a high school in Bisbee, Arizona Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 censu ...

, Bisbee, AZ * 1957 Motorola Government and Electronics Building (now

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

) Scottsdale, AZ *1957 Central Fire Station, Yuma, AZ *1958 Phoenix Fire Station No. 13, Phoenix, AZ * 1958 General Electric Deer Valley Plant (now Metro North Corporate Park) Phoenix, AZ (significantly altered) * 1958

, Tempe, AZ *1958 expansion to Hotel Valley Ho, Scottsdale, AZ * 1958 Lenart Building, 7000 E Camelback Road, Scottsdale, AZ (Demolished) *1959

Kofa High School Kofa High School is a high school in Yuma, Arizona. It is a part of the Yuma Union High School District. It was the second high school to be established in the community. The school shares its name with the Kofa Mountains, which were named for ...

, Yuma, AZ *1959-1961 Expansion of Motorola 52nd Street Semiconductor Plant, Phoenix, AZ *1960

Cortez High School Cortez High School is located in Phoenix, Arizona at 8828 N 31st Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85051. It is part of the Glendale Union High School District. The mascot is the Colt and the school colors are primarily black and white with red used as an alter ...

, Phoenix, AZ * 1960 Moon Valley Country Club (clubhouse) Phoenix, AZ * 1960 Kitt Peak Headquarters, Tucson AZ (now

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Headquarters) Tucson, AZ * 1961 Phoenix Country Club (current clubhouse) Phoenix, AZ * 1961

Scottsdale Fashion Square Scottsdale Fashion Square is an upscale luxury shopping mall located in the downtown area of Scottsdale, Arizona. It is the largest shopping mall in Arizona with approximately of retail space, and is among the top 30 largest malls in the country ...

Phase 1, Scottsdale, AZ (Demolished) * 1961 US Federal Courthouse, Phoenix, AZ (with

) * 1961 Sigma Chi Fraternity house Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (Demolished) *1961 Air Reduction Company Motorola Plant, Phoenix, AZ *1962 Farmer Education Building

, Tempe, AZ * 1963 Phoenix Municipal Building (now Goode Municipal Building) Phoenix, AZ (with

) *1963-1964 Expansion of Motorola Government and Electronics Building, Scottsdale, AZ * 1964 Emerson Electric Plant (now Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc) Prescott, AZ * 1964 Western Savings and Loan, 20th Street and Camelback (later Washburn Piano) Phoenix, AZ (Demolished) *1964 Building at 2102 W Indian School, Phoenix, AZ *1964 John C. Lincoln Hospital, Sunnyslope, Phoenix, AZ *1964

Cochise College Cochise College is a public college in Arizona. Founded in 1964, the school has campuses in Douglas and Sierra Vista, and centers in Benson, Fort Huachuca, and Willcox. Cochise College offers associate degrees in art, applied science, business, ...

, Douglas, AZ As Varney, Sexton, Sydnor, Associates (1965-1980) *1965

Moon Valley High School Moon Valley High School is a public high school in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, and is a part of the Glendale Union High School District, which opened in 1965. Moon Valley is one of Arizona's leading educational establishments and is an exce ...

, Phoenix, AZ * 1965-1967 Glendale Community College, Glendale, AZ *1966 Motorola Integrated Circuit Plant, Mesa, AZ (Demolished) *1967 Arizona Bank Branch, Mesa, AZ (Demolished) * 1967 Dunn-Edwards Paints, Tucson, AZ * 1968 St Luke's Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ * 1968

Prescott College Prescott College is a private college in Prescott, Arizona. History In 1965, the Ford Foundation brought together a group of educators from around the United States. Prescott College was the result of this gathering. The college was originall ...

, Prescott, AZ *1970 Apollo High School, Glendale, AZ *1970 Motorola Integrated Circuit Plant Exhaust Towers, Mesa, AZ (Demolished) *1971-1973 Expansion of Phoenix Baptist Hospital, Phoenix, AZ *1972 Chaparral High School, Scottsdale, AZ * 1972 Life Sciences Center C-Building, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ *1972 YWCA Building, Glendale, AZ * 1973

Phoenix Police Department The Phoenix Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Phoenix, Arizona. As of October 2021, the Phoenix Police Department comprises just under 2,800 officers, some 350 below authorized strength of 3,125 and more ...

Headquarters, Phoenix, AZ *1974 Motorola Price & Elliot Semiconductor Plant, Tempe, AZ * 1974 Arizona state capitol executive tower, Phoenix, AZ (with

and Place & Place) * 1975 Expansion of Yuma Regional Medical Center, Yuma AZ * 1976 Independence High School, Glendale, AZ * 1977 Maricopa County Central Court Building, Phoenix, AZ *1977 Glendale Community College Performing Arts Center, Glendale, AZ * 1977 Horizon Elementary School, Glendale, AZ *1978 Expansion of Memorial Hospital, Phoenix, AZ *1978-1982 Arizona State Prison Complex, Tucson, AZ * 1979 St. Joseph's Hospital parking garage, Phoenix, AZ As Varney, Sexton, Lunsford, Aye, Associates (1980-1990s) * 1981 St. Joseph's Hospital expansion, Phoenix, AZ (with Douglas Sydnor) *1981-1982 Arizona State Prison Complex, Perryville, AZ *1984 Glendale Municipal Building, Glendale, AZ *1987 Glendale Foothills Police Station/Fire Station 155, Glendale, AZ *1987 St. Joseph's Hospital Outpatient Center, Phoenix, AZ *1990 Maricopa County Administration Building, Phoenix, AZ

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Edward L. 1914 births 1998 deaths American architects Architects from Arizona Modernist architects Modernist architecture in Arizona