The National Park Bank was founded in 1856 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and by the late 19th century, it did more commercial business than any other bank in the country.

History

The bank built a significant

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

early skyscraper The earliest stage of skyscraper design encompasses buildings built between 1884 and 1945, predominantly in the American cities of New York City, New York and Chicago. Cities in the United States were traditionally made up of low-rise buildings, ...

at 214-18 Broadway – opposite St. Paul's Chapel – designed by New York architect

Griffith Thomas Griffith Thomas (1820—1879) was an American architect. He partnered with his father, Thomas Thomas, at the architecture firm of T. Thomas and Son.Donn Barber Donn Barber FAIA (October 19, 1871 – May 29, 1925) was an American architect. Biography Barber was born on October 19, 1871 in Washington DC, the son of Charles Gibbs Barber, and the grandson of Hiram Barber. He studied at Holbrook Mili ...

greatly expanded the 1868 building, 1903–1905, altering its Broadway façade beyond recognition. The bank had bought the plot of land directly behind its building, 165 x 75 feet, fronting on Ann Street to the north and Fulton Street to the south. This was intended as the site for a future skyscraper but instead was used for a new banking room with a vault designed by Frederick S. Holmes. Barber designed a T-shaped Beaux-Arts building with a large arched window on each of the three street facades. The bar of the "T" was built first, two tall

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...

ed barrel vaults flanking a stained-glass dome. Banking business moved into this space in 1904, while the lower three stories of the 1868 building (the stem of the "T") were gutted to create a grand entrance hall. The height of the new banking room from the marble floor to the top of the stained-glass dome was 68 feet (20.7 m). Artist

Albert Herter Albert Herter (March 2, 1871 – February 15, 1950) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, and interior designer. He was born in New York City, studied at the Art Students League with James Carroll Beckwith, then in Paris with Jean-Pa ...

painted the large lunette murals of ''Agriculture'', ''Industry'', and ''Commerce'' for the entrance hall and banking room. The building was demolished in 1961.

Business

In 1911, the bank acquired the

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

Company.

John Hamilton Fulton John Hamilton Fulton (November 12, 1869 - September 26, 1927) was president of National Park Bank from 1922 to 1927. Biography He was born on November 12, 1869, in Côte-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Scottish parents. When he was 1 ...

was president in 1927. It was consolidated with

Chase National Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking subsidiar ...

in 1929. File:King'sViewsofNY 1906 p.36 cropped.jpg, Ann Street façade – Broadway façade – Fulton Street facade File:National Park Bank T-Square Catalogue 1904 p.122.jpg, Interior of the 1905 building

References

{{JPMorgan Chase Banks established in 1856 Defunct banks of the United States Banks disestablished in 1929 Second Empire architecture in New York City Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City Buildings and structures demolished in 1961