First National Bank (Huntsville, Alabama)
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The First National Bank is a historic bank building in
Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...
. The temple-form
Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
structure was built in 1835–1836. Designed by locally famous architect
George Steele William James Myers (April 16, 1937 – February 16, 2017), better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele, was an American professional wrestler, school teacher, author, and actor. His career lasted from 1967 until 1988, though he mad ...
, it occupies a prominent position, facing the courthouse square and sitting on a bluff directly above the Big Spring. It was the longest-serving bank building in
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, operating until 2010 when
Regions Bank Regions Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company headquartered in the Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The company provides retail and commercial banking, trust, stock brokerage, and mortgage services. Its banking subsi ...
moved their downtown branch to a new location. The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1974.


History

The First National Bank building is situated on the west side of Courthouse Square, on a bluff above the Big Spring and Big Spring Park. The site is where the founder of Huntsville, John Hunt, built his cabin in 1805. The first bank to open in what was then the
Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...
was the Planters and Merchants Bank, chartered in 1817. Beginning in 1818, they occupied a small brick building on the square, which had been built as a mercantile store two years prior. Despite its long list of wealthy local investors, the bank soon became over-leveraged.
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Israel Pickens Israel Pickens (January 30, 1780 – April 24, 1827) was an American politician and lawyer, third Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama (1821–1825), member of the North Carolina Senate (1808–1810), and United States Congressman from North C ...
ordered the bank to be shut down in 1822, but legal challenges staved off dissolution until 1825. The bank's building burned sometime between 1828 and 1830. Pickens won re-election as governor in 1823, running on a platform that included the establishment of a state bank. The bank was founded in 1824 in the capital, Cahaba, moving to
Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...
along with the government in 1826. Assets came from bond sales and trust funds owned by the State. Branches were established in Mobile, Montgomery, and Decatur in 1832. Feeling slighted that the North Alabama branch was given to the younger and smaller Decatur, Huntsville legislators fought for a branch, which was awarded in 1835. Construction of the building was completed the following year. The availability of credit further fueled the land rush known as Alabama Fever. The banks provided enough revenue to the state government that the legislature abolished state
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
es. The good times were short-lived, as the bank quickly became over-leveraged in the
Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...
.
Benjamin Fitzpatrick Benjamin Fitzpatrick (June 30, 1802 – November 21, 1869) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Alabama, 11th Governor of Alabama and as a United States Senate, United States Senator from that state. He was a Democrat ...
was elected governor in 1841, promising to shut down the state bank. The charter expired in 1844, and was not renewed; the bank's debts were not settled until 1853. The same year, the Northern Bank of Alabama was founded in the old State Bank building. It operated until the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, when Union troops occupied Huntsville in 1862. During the war, the building was used as a
commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...
. At the end of the war, the National Bank of Huntsville was founded, using assets hidden from Union troops inside the building. In 1889 the bank changed its name to the First National Bank of Huntsville. First National merged with the Exchange Security Bank of Birmingham to form the First Alabama Bank in 1971. First Alabama changed its name to Regions Bank in 1992. Regions occupied the building until February 2010, when they moved their downtown branch to a larger location and donated the building to a non-profit redevelopment group.


Architecture

The National Bank represented a shift in architectural design, both for architect George Steele, and for North Alabama as a whole. Prior to submitting a bid for the bank, most of Steele's work was in the Federal style, which was popular in the first quarter of the 19th century. Steele drew inspiration for his design from a trip to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
and
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
. The building is similar in form to the
Bank of Pennsylvania The Bank of Pennsylvania or the Pennsylvania Bank can refer to two institutions: one that existed during the American Revolutionary War, and another chartered by the state in 1793. Revolutionary bank The first Bank of Pennsylvania was organized on ...
and has a similar floorplan to the
First Bank of the United States The President, Directors and Company of the Bank of the United States, commonly known as the First Bank of the United States, was a National bank (United States), national bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the United States Congress ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, both buildings featured in
pattern books A pattern book, or architectural pattern book, is a book of architectural designs, usually providing enough for non-architects to build structures that are copies or significant derivatives of major architect-designed works. A number of pattern bo ...
of the day. Steele also won the bid for the second Madison County Courthouse, another temple-form Greek Revival building located across from the bank and completed in 1840. The main block of the building is 53 feet (16 m) wide by 77 feet (23.5 m) long. The hexastyle portico and façade are constructed of locally quarried
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
blocks, with the rest of the building constructed of
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
ed brick. The
Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite o ...
s support a plain
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
, adorned only with the name of the bank (currently Regions). The 15 foot (4.5 m) tall double entry doors are made of red cedar, and have five square relief panels each. Two smaller doors, which open directly into front offices, flank the main door, each of which is topped with a four-panel transom; these doors were added in 1899. An iron-railed
balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...
formerly stretched across the middle portion of the front, but was removed sometime between 1934 and 1973. Windows on the second floor façade and sides are
sash A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the human body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else encircling the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, ...
es, with five narrow, vertical panes in the top and two in the bottom. First floor windows along the sides are six-over-six sashes. The small
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
and
weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...
atop the copper
gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof c ...
are from the second Madison County Courthouse, which was demolished in 1914. The main entrance to the building opens into a vestibule which is flanked by the two offices. The vestibule opens into the main lobby area, which is bisected by the
mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...
tellers' desk. Between the teller stations, the desk has columns and entablature that mimic the façade. A tellers' room and the director's room are behind the desk, on either side of the
bank vault A bank vault is a secure room used by banks to store and protect valuables, cash, and important documents. Modern bank vaults are typically made of reinforced concrete and steel, with complex locking mechanisms and security systems. This article ...
. A
fireplace mantel The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ...
in the director's room also mimics the façade with Ionic
pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
. A service room and stair hall are at the rear of the building. The second floor was living quarters for the cashier, which was required by law when the bank was built. Behind the main block, off the southeast corner, is a two-story wing, originally used as slave quarters. There are four rooms on each floor, and four more in the basement. A stair
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
with a deck above opened onto a sidewalk between the main building and Fountain Circle; the loggia was enclosed and access to the deck removed sometime after 1934. The northwest side was originally an open courtyard overlooking the Big Spring, but further additions now cover the entire area. The basement was used to house slaves who were being kept as collateral for mortgages by their owners. Windows on both floors on the Fountain Circle side are the same as those on the second floor of the main building. A door to the basement was removed and replaced with a night drop.


References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Huntsville, Alabama Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Greek Revival architecture in Alabama Commercial buildings completed in 1836 Buildings and structures in Huntsville, Alabama Slave cabins and quarters in the United States