Lagonda National Bank, Springfield Ohio

The Lagonda National Bank was incorporated on April 15^th, 1873. It was an evolution of the Commercial Bank, a private bank that began in 1870 and was operated by Frye, McMillen & Co. The Lagonda National Bank began its charter with $100,000 in capital and was initially located in the Republic Building. The bank's founding officers were General Joseph Warren Keifer, president, Christopher Thomas, vice president, D.P. Jeffries, cashier, plus four other board of directors.

The bank's name incorporated the word Lagonda, which had deep roots in the region. It was an abbreviation (La Ohonda) created by French traders for the Wyandot tribe's name of the creek running through what would become Springfield. Later known as Buck Creek, the area's earlier Indian inhabitants called it "Ough Ohonda," which translated as buck's horns, reflecting the circuitous course of the creek. Throughout Springfield's history, many other businesses, churches, and organizations also utilized the Lagonda moniker.

The Lagonda National Bank's president, Gen. Keifer, was a locally prominent attorney with state and national influence. He served during the entirety of the Civil War, advancing to the rank of general. He became an Ohio state senator in 1867, and during the late 1860s, he was instrumental in establishing the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home in Xenia. In 1876, he was elected to serve as a representative in Congress, temporarily relinquishing his bank president duties in the years before 1884.

The 1881 History of Clark County, Ohio noted that the bank purchased its corner site in April 1881 for $10,000, and "will build a fine banking house." On October 20^th, 1882, the Springfield Republic announced plans for a new Lagonda National Bank, with construction beginning the following spring. The proposed building was to be constructed in partnership with P.E. Bancroft, owner of the site, on the northeast corner of Main and Fountain streets. In April 1883, construction began on the new bank building, and it was completed the following year. The Lagonda National Bank would occupy the western half of the ground floor, on the corner, while Bancroft's hat and fur business would be in the eastern half. The upper floors contained offices, with various businesses located in them, including the Keifer and Keifer law firm.

Designed by local architects Lon Krider and Charles Cregar, the new bank building was built with Philadelphia pressed brick with stone trim. Charles Cregar ultimately became one of Springfield's most prominent architects during the late 19^th century.

On June 18^th, 1927, the Lagonda National Bank merged with the Citizens National Bank, becoming the Lagonda-Citizens National Bank. After 54 years as president of the Lagonda National Bank, Gen. Keifer handed the reins over to H.E. Freeman, as the merger took place. Gen. Keifer and Capt. Edward Buchwalter, president of Citizens National, were awarded the title of honorary president. To accommodate the merger, the Lagonda National Bank building was significantly remodeled in 1927-28, reopening on April 14^th, 1928. During the construction period, the bank operated in the Citizens National Bank location on S. Limestone.

For the remodeled Lagonda National Bank, William Shilling, another prominent Springfield architect, reoriented the primary entrance away from the angled corner of the building, where the door was situated, to the facade. On the interior, the narrow banking hall was enlarged to the full width of the building, eliminating the commercial storefront to the east. Among Shilling's noted designs were the Clark County Courthouse, local Ohio Edison Plant, numerous schools and churches, Springfield's 1935 Post Office, and many high-style houses. Shilling was also known for his specialization in remodeling projects, completing many such projects, especially for churches. Shilling practiced until his death in 1939. Arthur Leedle served as consulting architect for the 1927-28 remodel project and B.O. Largent was the contractor.

In 1934, the bank underwent a reorganization to comply with new rules of the Depression-era federal Reconstruction Finance Corp. As part of this restructuring, the bank returned to its earlier name, Lagonda National Bank of Springfield. The reorganization resulted in a new bank charter, a new cash capital of $400,000 and membership in the newly established Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

In the 1930s, the bank provided the services of a travel agent for its customers. Called the Lagonda National Bank Travel Bureau, it showed up in the Springfield City Directory as a separate department by 1933. Located on the 1^st floor of the bank, it was operated for over two decades by Mr. Odd Ott. Previous to his tenure at the Lagonda National Bank, Mr. Ott was the manager for the First National Bank's Travel Bureau in the late 1920s. The service, which continued into the 1970s, was heavily promoted as a customer benefit. "This service of the Bureau is free of any charge as an accommodation to the public by the Lagonda National Bank."

The Lagonda National Bank experienced additional growth in the post-World War II years. A mezzanine level was added in 1948 to create more space for the thriving bank. The executives and the travel department were moved up to the mezzanine, allowing for a 50% increase in teller space. Additionally, the bank was modernized with new lighting and installation of air conditioning.

In the 1950s, the bank's leadership sought to keep current with automobile-related and suburban development trends. Beginning in 1955, Springfield City Directory advertisements noted that the Lagonda National Bank was "the bank with the curb auto teller." Additionally, in 1954-55, the Lagonda National Bank opened two suburban branch offices. Both were located in newly constructed commercial hubs outside of downtown: the Park Shopping Center and the Southern Village Shopping Center.

Having finally outgrown the original 1880s edifice, a new headquarters building was constructed for the Lagonda National Bank in 1966. The new bank building was much larger to meet growing customer needs, had more room for the increasingly requisite drive-thru services, and included a sizeable parking lot in front of the building. Upon relocating to the new facility, the original bank served as a downtown branch.

The Lagonda National Bank became affiliated with Huntington Bancshares, Inc. in 1970, but remained its own corporate entity. In 1974, it became known as the Huntington-Lagonda National Bank, although it still retained autonomy. On December 31^st, 1979, the bank was officially merged with the Huntington National Bank, and the Lagonda part of the name has been defunct since then. The building at 2 East Main Street continued to serve as a branch for the Huntington National Bank until 1983. The building was then vacant for two years.

In 1986, the Regency Room, a restaurant and bar, occupied the former banking hall. In 1993-94, the Nashville Country Club then took over the space. At this point, the wall between the banking hall and the adjacent building, to the east, was opened up to create a larger ground floor space. The nightclub function represents the most recent usage of the Lagonda National Bank. The building is presently vacant.

General and Springfield Banking History

Due to transportation improvements and a blossoming industrial base, Springfield was bustling by the late 1840s and nearing city status. Its business leaders saw a need for the establishment of banks to support the growing commercial base. As was the case in communities across the country, many early banks were private enterprises. Sometimes called "wildcat" banks because of their unpredictability, private banks printed their own notes. However, local business owners, or even other banks, were not obligated to honor the currency, and they might or might not do it. It was an arbitrary system, at best. In an attempt to correct this problem, individual states began to establish bank-related legislation creating state bank ranches. However, this system was also complicated, as notes from state-chartered banks could be rejected outside the respective state.

In April 1803, Ohio's nascent general assembly issued the state's first banking charter, awarded to the Miami Exporting Company in Cincinnati. Over the next fifteen years, twenty-seven more bank charters were issued. Joining these state charter banks by the late 1810s, there were scads of informal banks operating without any state governing board to oversee them. Some informal banks, such as the Bank of Xenia, had a good reputation while others, such as the Owl Creek Bank of Mount Vernon, were notorious for issuing worthless paper commonly called shinplasters. Additionally, paper bank note counterfeiting was a proliferating problem. The economic Panic of 1837 caused many of Ohio's banks to close and many businesses to go bankrupt. The problem persisted into the 1840s, when some Ohio bank notes were discounted between 10 and 90 percent. To combat this financial instability a state bank commission was established in 1839, and in 1845, the Kelley Bank Bill was enacted. The Kelley Bill provided for the retention of specially chartered banks, but also provided for the establishment of the State Bank of Ohio, a consortium of independent banks with member banks located in each of twelve districts. The State Bank was governed by a Board of Control, which finally gave Ohio a more reliable banking structure.

Later, the federal government enabled a more reliable national banking structure, with establishment of the National Banking Act, passed in 1863 and amended in 1864.

The National Banking Act, 1864, had a major impact on the establishment of new banks. The law sought to create a consistent national currency backed by the U.S. Treasury, create a network of banks, and utilize bond sales to help finance the Civil War (at least for the North). It was also an attempt to regulate and control the inconsistencies of state-chartered banks. It was not uncommon for an independent bank to reject the bank notes of another bank. This financial impediment is one example of what the National Banking Act was attempting to fix. The 1864 act created a system of national banks and, in essence, created a tax that forced many state banks to close.

National bank notes, which had the issuing bank's name and location printed on it, were valid at any national bank, simplifying financial transactions across the country.

Local banking history tends to be complex with financial institutions continually forming, closing, or merging. Springfield was typical in this regard with its early formation of private and state-chartered banks, and then formation of national banks following the Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864. Between 1864 and 1890, five national banks were formed in Springfield, either as a successor of an older bank or as a brand new bank.

Established in the winter of 1846-47, the Mad River Valley Bank, a branch of the State Bank of Ohio, is credited as being Springfield's first bank. In 1865, it evolved into the Mad River National Bank, constructing a two-story brick building on Main Street four years later. The 1881 History of Clark County, Ohio noted that the bank had changed little in its 33 years of operation and was quite prosperous. The Mad River National Bank closed or merged with another bank in 1928. Conversely, Hertzler, Harrison & Co., Springfield's first private bank, only lasted a few years. Organized in 1854, it operated for roughly four years and did not survive to meet the responsibilities of the 1863/64 National Banking Acts.

The Springfield Bank was chartered, as a state bank branch, in July 1851. In 1864, it became the First National Bank, with a capital of $200,000. That same year the bank built a new edifice for itself on Limestone Street just south of Main Street. It was described as a brick building, two stories in height, with stone front, and is quite imposing in appearance, having an air of solidity and furnished within in keeping with external appearances. Asa S. Bushnell, one of Springfield's most prominent industrialists and future Ohio governor, was a founding member of this financial institution. The First National Bank was Springfield's other long-lasting national bank and existed into the 1970s before it was merged with Banc Ohio and then National City Bank.

The Second National Bank of Springfield, organized in December 1863 and chartered the following year, was an evolution of the private bank, Foos & Brother, established in 1859. Located at the southwest corner of Limestone and Main streets, this concern continued to be heavily associated with the Foos family. Griffith Foos was a pioneer settler in Springfield and his descendants were prominently involved with the city's commercial affairs. This banking concern folded after 35 years. It was liquidated in 1898, by order of the stockholders, and then reorganized as the Citizens National Bank. Edward L. Buchwalter, another well-known Springfield surname, became Citizens' new president.

Begun on January 4^th, 1873, the Springfield Savings Bank was located on Main Street. It was incorporated under a special law of Ohio. The Trustees under charter of this bank are not permitted to borrow or use any of its money, or receive any payment for their services. All investments made by the bank are secured by city, county and United States bonds and mortgages on real estate.

The Springfield National Bank was the last national bank formed in the city during the 19^th century. It was organized in December 1881, with two Foos family members on the board of directors. Phineas P. Mast, one Springfield's leading industrialists and its mayor for two years, was the president of the bank from 1881 until his death in 1898.

Concurrent with the establishment of banking institutions, Springfield also saw the establishment of building and loan associations at the end of the 19^th Century. These entities, which had existed in the United States since the 1830s, were created to help individuals save money for the purchase of a home. The Springfield Building & Loan Association was chartered in June 1884. Though it was not the first savings and loan in the city, it was described in 1908 as such, "the 'Springfield' is entitled to be called the 'Pioneer' in this city of the modern building and loan associations." The Merchants and Mechanics Building & Loan Association was organized in 1892 and was one of the city's long-lasting savings and loan institutions.

The beginning of the 20^th Century brought three more savings and loan associations in the city (Clark County Building and Savings Society, 1900; Springfield Co-operative Building Association, 1904; Indemnity Building & Loan Association, 1903) and a couple of new banks. The Farmers National Bank was established in 1910. Quite successful for nearly two decades, the Farmers National Bank constructed a fine new building in 1921, next to the Wren Department Store. The Guardian Bank was established in 1915, opening as the First Morris Plan Industrial Bank of Springfield, and lasted into the mid-20^th Century.

Enacted on December 23^rd, 1913, the Federal Reserve Act made significant changes to the way banks operated.

The law established the Federal Reserve System of central banks, required nationally chartered banks to become members, and provided a more elastic flow of currency. Although the 1864 National Banking Act had made strides to stabilize the banking trade, the Panic of 1907 highlighted the need to have a permanent liquidity to money flow. Keeping deposits in larger urban banks, smaller rural banks relied on liquidity of funds when farmers particularly needed money during planting season, but after the 1907 financial crisis, money was scarce for a number of years. The problem became acute enough that an Emergency Crop Loan meeting was held in Washington D.C. in August 1913. Another provision of the Federal Reserve Act was the creation of a uniform national currency. The multitude of individual [national] bank notes was now a thing of the past and Federal Reserve notes, the U.S. dollar, would be accepted everywhere.

Due to changing federal legislation and various economic situations, the early 20^th century often became more about mergers than the establishment of new banks. Two of Springfield's larger banks are examples of this. In 1927, Farmers National Bank was folded into the First National Bank, vacating its building on E. High Street. Also, in 1927, as noted in the previous section, Citizens National merged with the Lagonda National Bank. The Great Depression soon brought other banking changes.

Even before the 1929 stock market crash, seven thousand banks across the United States had failed during the 1920s. Most of these, however, were small country banks and their failures were scarcely noticed in the prosperity decade. But, in 1930, 1,345 banks failed including a notable, non-country bank, the Bank of the United States in New York, and more than 2,000 banks failed nationally in 1931. The failure rate in 1932 was slightly better, but people had lost confidence in the banking system. As customers stopped making deposits and also withdrew their savings, the rush on cash-strapped banks caused further failures. Four thousand banks closed in the first two months of 1933. The alarming number of national bank failures resulted in drastic action by the country's new president.

The Federal Bank Holiday, ordered by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, closed all American banks on March 6^th, 1933. Lasting for seven days, the closures were intended to re-instill confidence in the banking system and stop the massive withdrawals. Some states had already ordered banks closed statewide. Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act on March 9^th, 1933 and solvent banks were permitted to re-open on the 13th.

In Ohio, the March 1933 federal bank holiday resulted in 34 bank closures. In Springfield, the financial picture was more solid. The city once had six national banks in operation, but by 1935, there were only two surviving, due to earlier mergers. Springfield had two national banks, the First and the Lagonda National, with $8,265,837 in total resources, $1,350,000 in capital, $471,000 in surplus and profits, and $10,433,778 in deposits. In 1949, the Springfield Chamber of Commerce provided an accounting of the city's financial institutions over the previous decade.

The growth of Springfield's four commercial banks has been far above the average of the 13,500 such banks in the United States. In 1938 the assets of Springfield's four commercial and savings banks arrived at $23,913,000. In 1943 these banks, represented by The First National Bank, The Lagonda National Bank, The Springfield Savings Society, and The Guardian Bank, showed a combined total assets of $52,097,000. In the five-year period between 1943 and 1948 an even more startling rise appeared with an increase of $20,720,000, making the total $72,817,000.

By 1950, banking and the buildings themselves began to change. Smaller branches were established in suburban areas, allowing a customers to conveniently make all bank transactions there. The downtown banks became of lesser importance for the customer, although they typically remained the headquarters for the branches. Like most communities in the post-World War II years, Springfield experienced suburban growth. Keeping pace with new residential development outside the historic center, all manner of commerce naturally migrated too. For example, the Guardian Bank opened its first suburban branch in 1953, and the Springfield Savings Society opened two branches that same year.

The 20^th Century continued to see the merger of banking institutions. A 1964 history of the Miami Valley noted that metropolitan banks are fewer and larger and country and suburban banks are decreasing in number. Automation and the cost of operation and maintenance of small banks are forcing them to consolidate or sell to large institutions. This proved true for the Lagonda National Bank, as well, and it was merged with the Huntington National Bank, of Columbus, in 1979.

Springfield Commercial History

Founded in 1801, Springfield had steady population growth during the 19^th Century. Its early growth can be attributed to being named the Clark County seat in 1818 and the arrival of the National Road (the United States' first federally funded highway) in 1838. By the late 1840s, the railroad had reached Springfield, and two lines were operating there by 1851. Springfield was designated a city in 1850, with a population of 5,100.

Beginning in 1850, Springfield became an important industrial city, producing a wide array of agricultural implements. Other late 19^th and early 20^th Century manufacturing concerns included production of piano plates, motors, incubators, electric signs, and tires. Many of these companies had nationwide distribution, such as the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company, which began production of pneumatic automobile tires in 1900. The International Harvester Company took over the Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner Company in 1902, switching from the production of agricultural implements to trucks in 1908. Many of the city's manufacturing concerns had not only a national presence, but were internationally known as well. Among the companies doing international business were James Leffel & Co., manufacturers of turbines, and the Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, publishers of several well-known magazines and the largest magazine publisher in the world by the early 1920s.

During the 19^th Century and much of the 20^th Century, Springfield had a vibrant downtown that matched its thriving, diverse industrial sector. The city was a seat of county government, an important industrial center, and the location of a well-known Lutheran liberal arts college. A multitude of churches, public buildings, and commercial enterprises were located in the downtown's dense streetscape.

With respect to commerce, Springfield eventually became a regional center. Shortly after the settlement reached village status in 1827, a newspaper reported on the village's statistics, denoting fourteen stores (not including groceries). The National Road traversed Springfield along Main Street, and this cemented the street's prominence for business locations after the 1830s. In 1832, there were sixteen dry goods stores in the village.

By 1856, the newly designated city had eleven dry goods stores, all but one located on Main Street. With a little over 5,100 inhabitants, the city was also supporting twelve churches, eleven physicians, sixteen lawyers, two banks, seven hotels, three drug stores, five hardware stores, forty-three groceries, three bakeries, nine tailors, and three jewelers. Additionally, a multitude of skilled trades, such as wagon shops, blacksmiths, cooper shops, tin and stove shops, saddle and harness shops, and cabinet shops were represented.

The 1881 county history reported that Springfield experienced a population and commercial boom immediately following the Civil War. In 1868 and 1869 alone, 438 new buildings were constructed in the city, including two prominent downtown structures: an opera house and a large hotel. Numerous business and manufacturing enterprises were established after the war and then in the late 1870s, after a brief economic panic occurred in the early 1870s. The population reached 12,652 in 1870, a 75% increase over 1860, and 20,730 in 1880.

In 1905, Springfield had a population of 45,000. The city's street railway had been electrified and expanded in the early 1890s, winding its way through downtown on the primary streets, such as Fountain, Main, Limestone, High, and Washington. During the 1910s and 20s, Springfield was still in a period of growth. Eight hotels were in the downtown, commercial enterprises were thriving, and financial institutions were expanding. "Springfield's industrial diversity and strength continued to be reflected in its population growth in the early 20^th Century. Population figures had the largest jump in a single decade from 46,921 in 1910 to 60,840 in 1920. The 1910s and 1920s were just as important to Springfield's industrial and overall growth as the earlier farm implements era had been. The increase in value of manufactured goods was dramatic between 1914 and 1919. As a result, in slightly less than 30 years the city's range almost doubled from 6 square miles in 1894 to 11.55 square miles in 1922.

As evidenced by a 1916 Chamber of Commerce publication, Springfield had reached 60,000 inhabitants by then and had been judged by a collective of real estate experts to be "The Best 60,000 City in America." Further elaborating on the title, the Chamber noted, "We have compared her material growth in population, her increased bank clearings and deposits, her constantly broadening fields of industrial activity and the happiness of her people with those of other cities of like population." In no instance has Springfield suffered by the comparison.

Because it was well diversified, Springfield's industrial base remained fairly stable during the Great Depression. And, by 1938 Springfield was doing well and had ten firms employing more than 200 each. Agricultural machinery went down to sixth place in value. Motor trucks, magazines, electrical machinery, steel products, auto bumpers, road rollers, incubators and brooders, engines, and metallic caskets brought the greatest amount of business and activity to the city. Manufacturing was still healthy in the early 1960s, with nearly 230 firms operating in the city. Having had a presence in Springfield for many decades, International Harvester was the largest company and employer. However, the loss of Crowell-Collier's 2,000 jobs in 1956 signaled a gradual decline in Springfield's manufacturing base. Like many other industrial cities in the late 20^th Century, Springfield began to struggle with the challenge of keeping businesses in the central city and maintaining a healthy downtown.

Building Description

With an address of 2 East Main Street, the Lagonda National Bank is located on a busy, prominent corner, in the center of Springfield's historic downtown. It is a four story brick building, built in 1883-84. The Lagonda National Bank was remodeled in 1927-28, which changed it on the exterior from an Italianate to a Classical Revival structure. On the interior, the first floor mostly reflects the 1928 remodel, while the upper floors retain features of the original 1880s construction. Significant features of the Lagonda National Bank include marble stairs and plaster coin medallions in the former banking hall and wood trim, baseboards, and stairs on the upper floors.

The Lagonda National Bank was, and still is, located in an urban setting. Situated at the northeast corner of Main Street and Fountain Avenue, it is in the heart of the city's historic commercial center. The intersection of Main Street and Fountain Avenue is the dividing point between north-south and east-west directional street designations. The lot the building sits on is within the original 1804 plat of Springfield. The Lagonda National Bank is adjacent to a number of other late 19^th & early 20th-century buildings. The 19th-century bank building is across the street from Springfield's city hall and plaza.

The facade is two bays wide and has a clipped corner at the western edge. During the 1927-28 remodel, the bank's entry was moved from the angled corner to the west elevation. Additionally, the decorative 1880s Italianate elements were removed and the exterior was refashioned into a Classical Revival appearance. The window bay locations remained intact, but the windows were replaced. The windows are metal multi-light casements on the 1^st floor and wood 12/1 on the upper floors. Some 1^st-floor window panes have stained glass, which are randomly placed and of varied subject matter, including buildings, landscapes, covered wagons, and nautical images.

The 1^st floor features an ornate entrance with a decorative stone surround, which is centered on the primary elevation facing south onto Main Street. The doors are paired wooden doors with a large single light window. A fanlight transom is above the doors. A carved rope molding encircles the doors and transom window. The arched entryway is topped with a bracketed keystone. Embedded paired columns with Doric capitals flank the doorway. A cornice extends the width of the entrance bay. On either side of the doorway is a window. These windows are also contained within the stone surround and each one has a stone sill. The window on the west has two stained glass panels and the window on the right has one. A continuous string course is above the 1^st floor, which continues around to the west elevation. It is a heavy stone block string course. Above it is a narrower string course that creates a continuous sill for the second-story windows.

Window openings on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors contain paired windows. Carved stone spandrels separate the 2^nd & 3^rd story windows. Wrought iron curved balcony railings are at each window bay. The center of the balcony rail has a curlicue pattern set within an oval. A simple stone entablature is above the 3^rd story windows. Another slightly projecting stringcourse is above the 3^rd story. A metal projecting cornice is at the roofline, which was added during a 1962 renovation. A 1963 newspaper article indicates that the 3^rd story stringcourse and cornice were limestone, however current visual inspection indicates that they are metal. At the 4^th floor, the window bays were infilled with brick during the 1928 remodel, as the space was then used for storage. The limestone panels at the 4^th floor were added in 1962. The panels have the same shield motif as those between the 2^nd and 3^rd floors.

At the western edge of the facade, the angled corner was altered at the first floor in 1928, when the clipped corner was squared off. Originally, the 1884 building had a window opening at each floor level within the clipped corner. These window openings were infilled during the 1928 remodel. A vertically oriented sign was then hung on the blank brick wall from the 1920s through the late 1950s. During a 1963 renovation, a small square panel was added at the fourth floor. It has an L carved in relief for the Lagonda National Bank. The stringcourses and the cornice continue around the clipped corner, from the facade to the west elevation.

The west elevation has four window bays and a door is in a fifth bay, at the ground floor near the northernmost corner of the building. Originally, the bank had a bay of windows at each floor level above the doorway. These window openings have been infilled with brick, which occurred during the 1928 remodel. The present window bays have a stone sill and stone lintels. Unlike the lug sills, which extend beyond the opening, the window lintels are contained within the opening itself. The window openings are further emphasized by a brick-splayed lintel at the top of the opening, containing alternating header and soldier courses. Each of the four windows has at least one single pane of the decorative stained glass. The rear, secondary, entrance features a pedimented stone surround. As with the facade door, rope molding immediately frames the door opening. Decorative brackets are at each end of the surround. A floral motif cartouche is in the middle of the surround directly above the door. A row of dentils is above the cartouche. The door itself is recessed within the plane of the building. The door is wood with a large single pane of glass and a simple transom above. A panel is below the door window, and to the right of the door is a paneled side light. The recessed walls of the doorway have a matching panel pattern. The fenestration pattern at the 2^nd through the 4^th floors match that of the facade. The water table is visible on the west elevation. It is smooth limestone blocks, added in 1962.

The north, rear, elevation faces an alley space. It has randomly placed window openings. The metal multi-light windows largely match those of the first floor on the other elevations. A secondary rear door is at the first floor. The stone water table is visible at the rear elevation. A metal fire escape is attached to the rear elevation. Windows in the upper levels have been infilled with louvers. The east elevation abuts the neighboring building and is largely not visible.

During the 1928 remodel, the banking hall was widened and reconfigured to encompass the full 1^st floor, the original 1884 materials were removed, and new windows were installed. Square columns were added to support the enlarged space, where the wall was removed. The column capitals have a shield motif that is similar to those on the exterior spandrels. The banking hall remained a double-height space. A new metal staircase was added at the rear of the room, and its railing has a curlicue detail that matches the exterior balcony. A marble floor was installed and the basement stairs are also marble. Placed around the room, typically above windows, are plaster relief carvings that have monetary themes. An elevator was installed in the back corner of the building in 1928, near the stairs and rear entrance.

A photograph from 1928 shows that the rear staircase to the 2^nd floor was originally visible from the banking hall and there was no mezzanine level. Between 1928 and 1948, a balcony was added to the rear of the banking hall. It extended the width of the room and had a central staircase. In order to create more space for the bank, a complete mezzanine/balcony level was added along the east and west walls in 1948. The metal balcony railings also have the curlicue detail seen on other railings. The stairs to the mezzanine are black and white marble matching the earlier basement stairwell. The mezzanine along the rear and east walls is intact, while the balcony along the west wall has been removed, likely c.1993. Also, the stairs to the rear balcony were relocated from the center to the western edge.

An opening in the wall between the bank and adjacent building was created in 1993-94. Now vacant, the bank building most recently housed a night club on the ground floor. Some features on the ground floor reflect this most recent usage. For example, an elevated stage was added in the southwest corner and an enclosed vestibule was added at the front door. A drop ceiling was added, which consists of acoustic tile panels painted black. A bar was added to the rear of the space. Many of the columns have been faced with mirrors or T-111 paneling. A metal railing was added around the dance floor area. The basement is mostly utilitarian space with plaster walls and ceramic tile floor.

The 1928 remodel did not include the 2^nd - 4^th floors. A few rooms were updated with later materials, such as wall paneling, dropped ceilings, or linoleum flooring, however the upper floors are mostly unchanged. These changes may have occurred during the 1962 renovation of the building. The 2^nd through 4^th floors are similar in configuration with the exception of the placement of stairwells. Each of these floor levels has a central corridor with office spaces extending off of the corridor. The floors are wood. Office doorways have wood surrounds and transom windows. Some of the offices are interconnected with interior doors. These doors also feature wood surrounds with transom windows and bullseye corner boards. The window surrounds are also of wood and contain bullseye corners. The corner office on the 2^nd floor, at the clipped corner, has a fireplace mantle. The baseboards and door and window surrounds were painted on the 2^nd and 4^th floors, but remain unpainted on the 3^rd floor. Some rooms at the rear of the 3^rd floor have mid-twentieth-century paneled walls. The secondary stairwells between the upper floors are wood. Unlike the first floor, the upper floor levels continue to reflect their nineteenth-century character, each having high ceilings and the materials of the time period.