Louis Sullivan - The Banks

The Banks

By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, Sullivan's star was well on the descent and for the remainder of his life his output consisted primarily of a series of small bank and commercial buildings in the Midwest. Yet a look at these buildings clearly reveals that Sullivan's muse had not abandoned him. When the director of a bank that was considering hiring him asked Sullivan why they should engage him at a cost higher than the bids received for a conventional Neo-Classic styled building from other architects, Sullivan is reported to have replied, "A thousand architects could design those buildings. Only I can design this one." He got the job. Today these commissions are collectively referred to as Sullivan's "Jewel Boxes." All are still standing.

  • National Farmer's Bank, Owatonna, Minnesota (1908)
  • Peoples Savings Bank, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1912)
  • Henry Adams Building, Algona, Iowa (1913)
  • Merchants' National Bank, Grinnell, Iowa (1914)
  • Home Building Association Company, Newark, Ohio (1914)
  • Purdue State Bank, West Lafayette, Indiana (1914)
  • People's Federal Savings and Loan Association, Sidney, Ohio (1918)
  • Farmers and Merchants Bank, Columbus, Wisconsin (1919)
  • First National Bank, Manistique, Michigan (1919–1920) A remodeling of an existing bank building.

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Famous quotes containing the word banks:

    Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.
    William Faulkner (1897–1962)

    For the wrong that needs resistance,
    For the future in the distance,
    And the good that I can do.
    —George Linnaeus Banks (1821–1881)