The Penobscot Building was designed by local architect Wirt C. Rowland who also designed the nearby Buhl and Guardian Buildings. Like the Guardian, the Penobscot features Native American motifs although these details are dwarfed by the size of the building.
Photo credit:
me/flickr
Below is a detail from a spandrel:
Photo credit:
Bill Yagerlener/flickr
Above the main entrance:
Photo credit:
Bill Yagerlener/flickr
On SSC someone commented that the Penobscot Building was "a poor man's ESB", but that person did not realize that the Penobscot was completed 3 years before the Empire State Building. Its "modern" shape may have even influenced the design of the ESB.
I like this building enough to build a 11 foot high
LEGO model.