Old State Bank (Decatur, Alabama)

Last updated
State Bank Building, Decatur Branch
DSC6477-2.jpg
Location925 Bank St., NE, Decatur, Alabama
Coordinates 34°36′52″N86°59′1″W / 34.61444°N 86.98361°W / 34.61444; -86.98361
Built1833
Architectunknown
Architectural style Jeffersonian
NRHP reference No. 72000176 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 24, 1972

The State Bank Building, Decatur Branch, commonly known as the Old State Bank, is a historic Jeffersonian-style bank building in Decatur, Alabama, United States. It was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934 and 1935. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1972, due to its architectural significance. [1]

Contents

History

The Decatur branch of the Alabama State Bank opened its doors on July 29, 1833. It was authorized by the Alabama General Assembly in 1830 to be one of three branches of the Alabama State Bank. After outstanding debts of over $1 million were unable to be reformed the Decatur branch franchise was revoked. The building remained vacant until the 1860s when it was one of four buildings that survived the Civil War in Decatur, Alabama. During the Battle of Decatur, the bank was used as headquarters for the Union forces in the area and was also used as a hospital while battles raged outside.

In 1881, the First National Bank opened its doors in the Old State Bank building. But, when First National Bank completed its new office in 1902, the bank building was used as a residence and office by J. Y. Cantwell. After signs of deterioration began to show themselves, Cantwell's grand niece, W. B. Edmundson, deeded the building over to the City of Decatur in 1933. Management of the structure was vested in an eight-member Board of Governors. The petition for restoration was presented to the Civil Works Administration and restoration commenced. Being one of only a handful of local buildings to survive the destruction of the American Civil War, and after going through the many changes over the years, the Old State Bank has become a symbol of historical significance.


The fountains in front of the Old State Bank frozen in winter 2008. Alabama winter 2008.jpg
The fountains in front of the Old State Bank frozen in winter 2008.

In 1972, the Old State Bank was named to the National Register of Historical Places at the age of 139 years. Three years later, in 1975, the American Legion, Post No. 15, donated the Old State Bank building to the City of Decatur. Plans for restoration were put together in the year 1976, as the bank turned 143 years old, and was put under the control of the Old Bank Board members. Restoration of the bank was finished in the year 1983, at the age of 150. In 1984, a curator was appointed, and daily tours were implemented. The second wave of detailed restoration was undertaken in the years of 1995-1996 and was led by noted preservation architect, Harvie Jones. Funding was provided by the Alabama Historical Commission, the City of Decatur, and the Old Bank Board of Directors. The City of Decatur commemorated the bank's 175th anniversary in 2008.

Architecture

The architecture of the bank shows the influence of Thomas Jefferson's fusion of Palladianism with Roman temple forms. The five limestone columns across the front weigh 100-150 tons each and were mined in nearby Trinity. The pentastyle portico is highly unusual. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decatur, Alabama</span> City in and county seat of Morgan County, Alabama

Decatur is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City," it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake along the Tennessee River. The population was 57,938 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cahaba, Alabama</span> Archaeological site in Alabama, United States

Cahaba, also spelled Cahawba, was the first permanent state capital of Alabama from 1820 to 1825. It was the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama until 1866. Located at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers, the town endured regular seasonal flooding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama State Capitol</span> State capitol building of the U.S. state of Alabama

The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. Located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery, it was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960. Unlike every other state capitol, the Alabama Legislature does not meet there, but at the Alabama State House. The Capitol has the governor's office and otherwise functions as a museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhea–McEntire House</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

The Rhea–McEntire House, also known as the Rhea–Burleson–McEntire House, is a historic antebellum Greek Revival mansion located along the shoreline of the Tennessee River's Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosenbaum House</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

The Rosenbaum House is a single-family house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built for Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum in Florence, Alabama. A noted example of his Usonian house concept, it is the only Wright building in Alabama, and is one of only 26 pre-World War II Usonian houses. Wright scholar John Sergeant called it "the purest example of the Usonian."

The Seth Lore and Irwinton Historic District is a historic district in Eufaula, Barbour County, Alabama. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as Lore Historic District; the registration document identified and described 72 specific buildings. And then its boundaries were increased and the district was renamed to "Seth Lore and Irwinton Historic District" in 1986; the entire area then contained 738 contributing buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Avenue Cultural Center</span>

The architecturally and historically significant Historic Avenue Cultural Center is an exhibit and event space that serves as an anchor to Mobile, Alabama’s budding Civil Rights and Cultural Heritage District. From the early 1990s to approximately 2015, it served as the National African American Archives and Museum. Formerly known as the Davis Avenue Branch of Mobile Public Library, it was the lone Black library in Mobile County during segregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Episcopal Church (Montgomery, Alabama)</span> Historic church in Alabama, United States

St. John's Episcopal Church is a historic Gothic Revival church in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. It was designed by the New York City architectural firm of Frank Wills and Henry Dudley. The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 24 February 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Alabama-related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany, Alabama</span> United States historic place

Albany, Alabama, also known as New Decatur, Alabama, was a city in Morgan County, Alabama, United States, situated immediately to the southeast of the city of Decatur near the Tennessee River. New Decatur/Albany existed as a city from 1887 until 1927, when it merged with the city of Decatur. Today, it exists as a neighborhood within the city of Decatur, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captain Nathan Carpenter House</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

Everhope, known throughout most of its history as the Captain Nathan Carpenter House and more recently as Twin Oaks Plantation, is a historic plantation house near Eutaw, Alabama. Completed in 1853 for Nathan Mullin Carpenter, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage due to its architectural and historical significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom Rides Museum</span> United States historic place

The Freedom Rides Museum is located at 210 South Court Street in Montgomery, Alabama, in the building which was until 1995 the Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station. It was the site of a violent attack on participants in the 1961 Freedom Ride during the Civil Rights Movement. The May 1961 assaults, carried out by a mob of white protesters who confronted the civil rights activists, "shocked the nation and led the Kennedy Administration to side with civil rights protesters for the first time."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sturdivant Hall</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

Sturdivant Hall, also known as the Watts-Parkman-Gillman House, is a historic Greek Revival mansion and house museum in Selma, Alabama, United States. Completed in 1856, it was designed by Thomas Helm Lee for Colonel Edward T. Watts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 18, 1973, due to its architectural significance. Edward Vason Jones, known for his architectural work on the interiors at the White House during the 1960s and 70s, called it one of the finest Greek Revival antebellum mansions in the Southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tyler Morgan House</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

The John Tyler Morgan House is a historic Greek Revival-style house in Selma, Alabama, United States. It was built by Thomas R. Wetmore in 1859 and sold to John Tyler Morgan in 1865. Morgan was an attorney and former Confederate general. Beginning in 1876, he was elected as a Democratic U.S. senator from Alabama for six terms. He used this house as his primary residence for many of those years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Decatur Button</span> American architect

Stephen Decatur Button was an American architect and a pioneer in the use of metal-frame construction for masonry buildings. He designed commercial buildings, schools and churches in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey; and more than 30 buildings in Cape May, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bemidji Carnegie Library</span> United States historic place

The Bemidji Carnegie Library is a former library building in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. It was built as a Carnegie library in 1909 and housed the city's public library until 1961. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and education. It was nominated for being a well-preserved example of a Carnegie library and of public Neoclassical architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First National Bank (Huntsville, Alabama)</span> United States historic place

The First National Bank is a historic bank building in Huntsville, Alabama. The temple-form Greek Revival structure was built in 1835–1836. Designed by locally famous architect George Steele, it occupies a prominent position, facing the courthouse square and sitting on a bluff directly above the Big Spring. It was the longest-serving bank building in Alabama, operating until 2010 when Regions Bank moved their downtown branch to a new location. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank Street–Old Decatur Historic District</span> Historic district in Alabama, United States

The Bank Street–Old Decatur Historic District is a historic district in Decatur, Alabama. The district encompasses the original commercial and residential portion of Decatur along the Tennessee River. In 1832, Decatur was selected over the larger Huntsville as the site of the northern branch of the state bank. Bank Street became the commercial hub of the town, as it was the only place in the Tennessee Valley were riverboat, wagon, and rail transportation converged. Due to its strategic location, the town suffered heavy damage in the Civil War; the Todd House on Lafayette Street is one of only four buildings in Decatur to survive the war. As the town was rebuilding from the war, a fire in 1877 destroyed most of the buildings along Bank Street. The rebuilt structures were all of brick, and represent Italianate, Victorian, and Commercial styles popular from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. Houses in the district are primarily modest, and styles include vernacular Victorian, Shingle-style, and Craftsman bungalows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dancy–Polk House</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

The Dancy–Polk House is a historic residence in Decatur, Alabama. The house was built in 1829 for Colonel William Francis Dancy, an early settler in the area, who later moved to Franklin, LA. It is the oldest building in Decatur, and one of only four to survive the Civil War. Dancy came to North Alabama from southern Virginia, and built a Georgian house popular in his homeland. The two-story frame house has a double-height portico with four Doric columns on each level. The house was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1978 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The Columbus Register of Historic Properties is a register for historic buildings and other sites in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The register is maintained by the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission and Historic Preservation Office, and was established in 1980. Many of these landmarks are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, providing federal tax support for preservation, and some are further designated National Historic Landmarks, providing additional federal oversight.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. Gamble, Robert (1990). Historic architecture in Alabama: a guide to styles and types, 1810-1930. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. p. 53. ISBN   0-8173-1134-3.