The First National Bank Building, also known as the First National Building,
is a
Romanesque Revival building in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
designed by the local architectural firm of
Fry and Kasurin.
It stands at 201-205 South Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on November 24, 1982.
History
The First National Bank was established In 1863, and was the first bank in Washtenaw County. The bank hired the Ann Arbor firm of Fry and Kasurin to design this building, and construction began in 1927. The building was completed in 1930, and was at the time the tallest building in Ann Arbor. The building housed both the bank and a number of prominent local professional firms. In 1936, First National merged with two other financial institutions and vacated the building; the former banking offices were converted into retail space.
The building was purchased by First Martin Corporation in 1981, and the company completely renovated the entire structure in 1982.
As of 2018, First Martin owns and operates the building.
Description
The First National Bank Building stands at ten floors in height, with rear wings of two and five stories. The building is designed with an interesting blend of
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
and
Art moderne architectural styles. It has a steel frame, and the principal façades are clad in lightly colored terra-cotta designed in a restrained
Romanesque styling. The terra cotta was executed by the
Northwestern Terra Cotta Company
Northwestern or North-western or North western may refer to:
* Northwest, a direction
* Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois
** The Northwestern Wildcats, this school's intercollegiate athletic program
** N ...
.
The terra cotta has broad vertical lines; there are gargoyles mounted near the top beneath a decorative cornice.
References
External links
Google Maps location of the First National Bank Building*
*
*
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Romanesque Revival architecture in Michigan
Buildings and structures completed in 1927
Skyscrapers in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Art Deco architecture in Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Washtenaw County, Michigan
Skyscraper office buildings in Michigan