Merchants' National Bank | |
 Merchants' National Bank | |
| Location | 833 Fourth Avenue, Grinnell, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°44′36″N92°43′27.75″W / 41.74333°N 92.7243750°W /41.74333; -92.7243750 |
| Built | 1914 |
| Architect | Louis Sullivan; Stewart-Robison-Laffan |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements |
| Part of | Grinnell Historic Commercial District (ID91000384) |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000804 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | January 7, 1976[1] |
| Designated CP | January 7, 1976[2] |
TheMerchants' National Bank is a historic commercial building located inGrinnell, Iowa. Built in 1914, it is one of a series of small banks designed byLouis Sullivan in theMidwest between 1909 and 1919. All of the banks are built of brick and for this structure he employed various shades of brick, ranging in color from blue-black to golden brown, giving it an overall reddish brown appearance. It was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1976 for its architecture.[2][3] In 1991, it was listed as acontributing property to theGrinnell Historic Commercial District.[4]
Merchants' National Bank was built in 1914 and had its grand opening on January the first, in 1915, along with thePurdue State Bank in Indiana, also designed by Sullivan.[5]
Structurally the building is a rectangular box, with a magnificent main facade and a windowed side facade.
Although this building is smaller than either hisOwatonna orCedar Rapids banks, it appears just as monumental. This is due largely to the oversizedcartouche that surrounds a circular window on the Fourth Street facade. Light is introduced into the interior by a series of stained glass windows that alternate with structural posts down the side of the building and through the colored glass skylight that comprises much of the ceiling.
While the bank housed in the structure and its location, the small town of Grinnell, did not warrant wide national attention, yet the unveiling of the Louis Sullivan building was given national coverage in the architectural press of the day. The Merchants' Bank was featured in an eleven-page spread inThe Western Architect's February 1916 edition.[6]
As he did in his banks inCedar Rapids andSidney, Ohio, Sullivan used lions, or at least a grotesque, winged version of a lion, as figurative decoration. This creature is one of the very few figurative elements that can be found in the architect's designs. (The angels in hisTransportation Building and theBayard-Condict Building being other examples.)
Some of the plans and even the designs of the ornament were done by Sullivan's draftsmanParker N. Berry, who was shortly thereafter to fall victim to the 1918Spanish flu epidemic.
In the 1970s or early 1980s, a city beautification project sponsored the planting of several trees in front of the bank. Gebhard calls this an "unbelievable decision" for the growing plants would obscure more and more of the amazing facade. These plantings can be easily seen in the gallery pictures, taken in 1985. These trees were removed as of 2013.
In 2007, the city remodeled its downtown sidewalks and streets so the intersections of the square had the "Jewelbox" appearance to them. The city also put Planters at the four corners of the crossings which have the "Jewelbox" engraved in them.
Between 2008 and 2009, one of the lions in front of the building was damaged. Both lions have now been replaced.
Other Louis Sullivan "jewel boxes":
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help) andAccompanying 7 photos, exterior and interior, from 1978 and undated. (1.73 MB)
