Northwest Davenport Savings Bank is a historic building located in a commercial district in the old northwest section of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on 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 ...

since 1984.

History

Northwest Davenport Savings Bank was established in Davenport around 1910. The Neoclassical style structure was designed by Davenport architect Arthur Ebeling. The building was completed in 1912 in a German-American neighborhood in what was then the northwest corner of the city of Davenport. Its founders were of German-American descent, and lived and operated businesses in the same commercial district. Dr. Jacob S. Weber, a physician, served as the banks first president; Peter Peters, a local merchant, was the first vice-president; and William Burmann was the cashier. with It was one of five banks that were still active in the city when President Franklin Roosevelt declared the Bank Holiday in 1933. The others included: American Commercial and Savings Bank, Bechtel Trust Company, Union Savings Bank and Trust, and Home Savings Bank.Svendsen, 5-5. Only two banks survived, American Commercial and Bechtel, but under new names. On July 7, 1941, Northwest Bank and Trust Company began business in the building. They occupied the structure until 1953 when they moved to their current location on the corner of West Locust and Washington Streets.

Architecture

The banking industry in Davenport enjoyed significant growth from around 1900 to 1915. The new buildings that were built by them in this era expressed this growth both downtown and in the newly established neighborhood branch banks. For the most part, they were built in some version of the Neoclassical style. This small bank building is a relatively simple single-story brick structure. It is built on a concrete block foundation. The building features engaged columns in the

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of c ...

that support a full entablature and triangular

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

, and

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s that are topped with

egg-and-dart Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star, is an ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex ovolo profile of moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typicall ...

molding on the classically detailed caps. The main entrance has been partially filled in to create a smaller doorway. A small addition was also added to the south side of the building at a later date.

References

External links

{{Scott County Germans Commercial buildings completed in 1912 Neoclassical architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Davenport, Iowa German-American history German-American culture in Iowa Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa 1912 establishments in Iowa