The Farmers and Merchants Union Bank is a historic commercial building at 159 West James Street in
Columbus, Wisconsin. Built in 1919, it is the last of eight "jewel box" bank buildings designed by
Louis Sullivan, and the next to last to be constructed.
Images of Farmers and Merchants Union Bank by Louis Sullivan
/ref> It was declared a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1976 for its architecture.[ and ]
Description and history
The Farmers and Merchants Union Bank is located in downtown Columbus, at the southern corner of West James Street and South Dickason Boulevard. It is a tall single-story in height, its exterior finished in tapestry brick with marble and terra cotta trim. The main facade is two bays wide, with the building entrance in the right bay. Above these bays is an elaborately carved tall marble lintel, above which a half-round stained glass window is framed by a stone garland. The side of the building, facing South Dickason, has a band of five windows. The interior is small yet spacious, with a bank of teller stations on the left side.Harold C. Bradley House
Harold C. Bradley House, also known as Mrs. Josephine Crane Bradley Residence, is a Prairie School home designed by Louis H. Sullivan and George Grant Elmslie. It is located in the University Heights Historic District of Madison, Wisconsin, Un ...
, is also a National Historic Landmark. The design of this bank is fully documented in Sullivan's 1924 ''A System of Architectural Ornament'', published not long before his death.
Other Louis Sullivan "jewel boxes"
*Henry Adams Building
The Henry Adams Building, also known as the Land and Loan Office Building, is a historic building in Algona, Iowa, United States. It was designed by Louis Sullivan in 1912.
Although it was not designed as a bank, and has never served as such, the ...
, Algona, Iowa (1913)
* Home Building Association Company, Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
(1914)
*Merchants' National Bank
The Merchants' National Bank (1914) building is a historic commercial building located in Grinnell, Iowa. It is one of a series of small banks designed by Louis Sullivan in the Midwest between 1909 and 1919. All of the banks are built of brick ...
, Grinnell, Iowa (1914)
* National Farmer's Bank, Owatonna, Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
(1908)
*People's Federal Savings and Loan Association
The People's Federal Savings and Loan Association is a historic bank building at 101 East Court Street in Sidney, Ohio, designed by Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. It was designed and built in 1917 for use by Peoples Federal Savings and Loan Ass ...
, Sidney, Ohio
Sidney is a city in Shelby County, Ohio, located approximately 36 mi (58 km) north of Dayton and 100 mi (161 km) south of Toledo. The population was 20,421 at the time of the 2020 census. It is named after English poet Phili ...
(1918)
*Peoples Savings Bank
The Peoples Savings Bank in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was designed by Louis Sullivan. It was the second of a number of small "jewel box" banks in midwest towns designed by Sullivan during 1907 to 1919. with It was built in 1911, and it was individual ...
, Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...
, Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
(1912)
*Purdue State Bank
The Purdue State Bank Building is a historic structure in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, designed by American architect and Frank Lloyd Wright's mentor Louis Sullivan. Completed in 1914, the bank is the smallest and least expensive of Sull ...
, West Lafayette
West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister c ...
, Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
(1914)
See also
* List of National Historic Landmarks in Wisconsin
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmers And Merchants Union Bank (Columbus, Wisconsin)
National Historic Landmarks in Wisconsin
Commercial buildings completed in 1919
Buildings and structures in Columbia County, Wisconsin
Louis Sullivan buildings
Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
Columbus, Wisconsin
Art Nouveau architecture in the United States
Art Nouveau commercial buildings
National Register of Historic Places in Columbia County, Wisconsin