The Farmers and Merchants Union Bank is a historic commercial building at 159 West James Street in

Columbus, Wisconsin Columbus is a city in Columbia (mostly) and Dodge Counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 5,540 at the 2020 census. All of this population resided in the Columbia County portion of the city. Columbu ...

. Built in 1919, it is the last of eight "jewel box" bank buildings designed by

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

, 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. The building was designed by Sullivan in 1919, and its construction was personally supervised by him. It was the last of his so-called "jewel box" designs of small bank buildings in smaller midwestern communities, and the second-to-last to be completed. It is one of two Sullivan designs in Wisconsin; the other, the Harold C. Bradley House, 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,

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(1913) * Home Building Association Company, Newark,

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(1914) * Merchants' National Bank,

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(1914) * National Farmer's Bank, Owatonna,

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(1908) * People's Federal Savings and Loan Association,

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(1918) * Peoples Savings Bank, Cedar Rapids,

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 th ...

(1912) * Purdue State Bank, West Lafayette,

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(1914)

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

Description and history

Other Louis Sullivan "jewel boxes"

See also

References

External links