West Town State Bank Building

“Through its overall scale and design, the West Town State Bank Building is a visually dominant building in the Near West Side community area. It is the tallest and most striking building remaining along Madison Street, once the West Side's most prominent commercial street.”

“Because the building is vacant, the main entrance and storefronts, plus some upper-floor windows, are boarded up. Inside the building, the original banking room on the first floor was converted to storefronts after the closing of the West Town State Bank in 1931.”

“The West Town State Bank Building is the only remaining example of a tall, large-scale neighborhood bank building on Chicago's West Side. The West Town State Bank Building also is significant as the location for the radio broadcasts, beginning in the 1930s and 1940s, of pioneering African-American radio broadcasters Jack L. Cooper and Al Benson.”

“In his book, Entrepreneurs of Profit and Pride: From Black-Appeal to Radio Soul, writer Mark Newman stated, “Cooper innovated many of the programming ideas and practices that became standard in most black-appeal ventures coast to coast, in part because he set the example that others followed." By the late 1940s, Cooper was so successful that his company, Jack L. Cooper Presentations, the office of which was located in the West Town State Bank Building, was supported by nearly 50 sponsors and broadcast about 40 hours of weekly air time on WSBC and three other Chicago radio stations.”

“The West Town State Bank Building was designed in the Art Deco style, a popular style in Chicago during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Named after the Exposition des Art Decoratifs, a world's fair held in Paris in 1925 that emphasized highly decorative modern architectural and decorative styles, Art Deco buildings, including the West Town State Bank Building, emphasized hard-edged, linear forms with an emphasis on verticality.”

“Television producer Franklin McCarthy, organizer of the tribute, stated, “We owe this man a great deal. For without his many accomplishments and interests, many of us would have never had the opportunity to venture into our very rewarding careers." At the ball, singer and record company executive Smokey Robinson presented the AlBenson Foundation with a $2,000 check, donated by Motown Industries' chairman Berry Gordy, in recognition for what he had done to help African-Americans in the entertainment business.”

“These taller buildings, including the West Town State Bank Building, usually were located at or near major commercial intersections. At six to 12 stories in height, these neighborhood skyscraper buildings were not as tall as contemporary skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop, but the contrast in scale between the existing low-scale commercial streetscape and these newer buildings was nevertheless quite dramatic.”

“It remains the best and most prominent surviving neighborhood bank building on Chicago's West Side. The West Town State Bank Building is significant in the history of African- American radio programing in Chicago.”

“It is a striking presence on Chicago's West Side, rising eight stories above the intersection of W. Madison St. and N. Western Ave. Designed by Mundie and Jensen, it is a fine example of the Art Deco style, combined with Classical-style ornament, and resembles skyscrapers built in Chicago's Loop during the late 1920s, albeit on a smaller scale.”