The Ralph Haver Archive

The Ralph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing Copenhagen Building (now Copenhagen Imports) at Camelback Road and HWY 51

Designed by Ralph Haver AIA, 1954

Ralph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenArizona Builder Contractor Magazine

Eerily resembling a classic Haver Home on steroids, this former Ralph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing Copenhagen furniture store opened on Christmas day of 1953, when the Camelback Corridor was not much more than cow pastures and citrus fields. Troubled by the absence of floor-to-ceiling glass that had not yet been installed, employees spent the night in the structure to guard against potential looters. The residential style of the low-slung structure is no coincidence--the Regester showcase was one of the first of its kind to display furniture grouped in themed vignettes. This site has retained its integrity as a furniture showroom for Copenhagen Imports since 1993. Note the wood laminated ceiling, heavy beams, and herringbone brick walkways, all classically restrained details that embody Haver's frugal design ethic. In its day, the wood ceiling was referred to as mill-floor construction and touted as 18th Century Revival style What we cannot see today is the copper cladding of the roof's edge. The Bauhaus-inspired Copenhagen logotype facing Camelback Road lends a second layer of historical irony to this landmark modern structure. goldblatt'sThe Regester model was such a success that Haver & Nunn were hired to bring the ranch -shaped store to Chicago in 1966, where Goldblatt's Home Center would become "The World's Largest Ranch House". This rendering is by artist James Salter, who was responsible for much of the look and feel of the firm's work at its height in the early 60s.

Ralph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing CopenhagenRalph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing Copenhagen Ralph Haver's Lou Regester Building, now housing Copenhagen Compare to Barrow's Furniture in Tucson.
The Ralph Haver Archive


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