| Address | 1200-08 N. Ashland Avenue / 1600-12 W. Division Street, Chicago, IL |
|---|---|
| Built | 1925-26 |
| Architect | Karl M. Vitzthum & Co. |
| Status | Designated Chicago Landmark |
| Designation Date | February 6, 2008 (Final)City Council Journal of the Proceedings, p. 20622 |
| Neighborhood | West Town |
| Type | Bank |
| Landmark ID | L-254 |
Interior spaces protected by this designation
- All exterior elevations, including rooflines, of the building, and the Ashland Avenue vestibule interior; and the three-story banking hall interior, including, but not limited to: existing interior window archways around 2nd-floor atrium windows; six historic chandeliers; decorative-metal grillework ornamenting third-floor windows; and beamed ceiling and opalescent-glass skylight.
- Existing banking hall tables and decorative metal-and-marble banking teller cages would not be considered to be part of the significant features of the banking hall interior.
Home Bank & Trust Company, Preliminary Landmark Recommendation, p. 20.
Direct quotes from the Chicago Landmark Designation Report
“A handsome example of the Classical Revival style, the Home Bank and Trust Building (commonly known as the Manufacturers Bank Building, and now occupied by MB Financial Bank) is one of the finest neighborhood bank buildings in Chicago and is a prominent visual landmark for its community.”
“Despite the construction of its impressive new building, the Home Bank and Trust Company could not escape the impact of the Great Depression. It closed on July 1, 1930, reopening ten days later after its reorganization under a national charter as the United American Trust and Savings Bank, which failed in turn the following year.”
“The phenomenal expansion of Chicago's outlying banks-growing from four in 1874 to 195 in 1929—represents the rapid outward development of the city and its transportation network during those years of great growth for the city.”
“The building exterior retains its important and visually impressive three-story-high, round-arched banking entrance, as well as a plethora of Classical-style ornament, including allegorical low-relief carved-stone figures, pediments, friezes, and cornice.”
“Vitzthum initially worked for such prominent architectural firms as D.H. Burnham and Co. and its successor firm, Graham, Anderson, Probst and White. After 1919, he headed the firm of K.M. Vitzthum & Co, which focused on the design of commercial, industrial, and large residential buildings.”
“His junior partner, John J. Burns (1886-1956), was born in New York City and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis. The farther of nine children, he lived in the Rogers Park area of Chicago and was in partnership with Vitzthum for forty years.”
“They are more than clearing houses of their respective community. In most cases they are the community centers as well. On the evenings in the hours these banks open their doors to the public, hundreds of thousands of people assemble to transact their banking business.”
“By 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt concluded that only a national "bank holiday" would restore the system. Soon thereafter Congress changed most of the banking laws and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was established.”
“Step by step with the growth of Chicago has come the establishment of a wonderful array of outlying banks. These financial institutions exert a tremendous influence on the business and civic life of Chicago.”
“Directors of the bank during the mid-1920s included Paul Drymalski, president of the Polonia Coal Company; Ernst Fenske of Fenske Brothers, furniture manufacturers; Thomas R. Hair, treasurer of the Northwestern Yeast Company; and E.K. Jarecki, a Cook County judge.”
What other designation reports say about this building
“Hyde Park-Kenwood National Bank Building at 1525 West 53rd Street, 1929 (top); the Home Bank and Trust Company Building at 1200-08 N. Ashland Avenue, 1925 (middle); and the Marquette Park State Bank Building at 6314 S. Western Avenue, 1924 (bottom), all designated Chicago Landmarks.”
“North Ave. (1926) and the Home Bank and Trust Company Building at 1200-08 N. Ashland Ave./1600-12 W. Division St.(1925-26, currently under consideration as a Chicago Landmark). The firm also designed ecclesiastical buildings, such as St.”
“After a temporary move in 1935 to the third floor of the Home Trust Bank and Trust Company Building at 1200 N. Ashland Ave., the PNA finally moved forward with plans for a new headquarters facility on its property at Division and Bosworth. Architect Joseph A.”