First National Bank (Portland, Oregon)

First National Bank
Portland Historic Landmark[2]
The building's exterior in 2018
First National Bank Building (Portland, Oregon) is located in Portland, Oregon
First National Bank Building (Portland, Oregon)
First National Bank Building (Portland, Oregon) is located in Oregon
First National Bank Building (Portland, Oregon)
First National Bank Building (Portland, Oregon) is located in the United States
First National Bank Building (Portland, Oregon)
Location401 SW 5th Avenue
Portland, Oregon
Coordinates45°31′14″N 122°40′37″W / 45.520684°N 122.676931°W / 45.520684; -122.676931
Area0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Built1916
ArchitectCoolidge & Shattuck
Architectural styleNeoclassical / Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.74001707[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1974

The First National Bank Building is a building located in downtown Portland, Oregon, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]

Located at 401–409 SW 5th Avenue, designed by Coolidge and Shattuck of Boston, resembling some of the Lincoln Memorial classicism, it was built in 1916 when the bank outgrew its earlier quarters and when it was subsequently under the ownership of H.W. Corbett’s grandsons. The building was dubbed the "marble temple". The bank's design bred confidence and was a symbol of security.

Usage

Located at S.W. Fifth and Stark, the three-story building was the headquarters of the First National Bank (FNB) in Portland starting in 1916, and continued to be a portion of the headquarters complex until 1972. The bank's main offices later moved into new buildings constructed directly adjacent—first in 1923, in a new four-story marble building at Sixth and Stark (initially occupied by the affiliated Security Savings & Trust Company, but owned by FNB), and later in 1957–59, with a much larger expansion, into a building now known as 400 SW Sixth Avenue, which replaced buildings at Sixth and Washington and in 1960 also replaced the First National Bank's 1923 building.[4]

The original building of 1916 continued to form part of the two-building headquarters complex until 1972, when First National moved its headquarters to the new 40-story tower adjacent to the administration services building next to City Hall. First National then sold its two buildings along Stark Street, with the 1916 landmark being sold to the Oregon Pioneer Savings & Loan Association.[5][6] The building was saved from destruction and given an historical landmark designation by the city.[5][6] It became Oregon Pioneer's new headquarters.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (July 2010), Historic Landmarks -- Portland, Oregon (XLS), retrieved November 5, 2013.
  3. ^ "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "Bank Project Work Started". (January 21, 1960). The Oregonian, p. 22.
  5. ^ a b Pintarich, Paul (July 27, 1972). "Savings institution buys landmark bank building". The Oregonian, p. 1.
  6. ^ a b MacColl, E. Kimbark. The Growth of a City: Power and Politics in Portland, Oregon 1915 to 1950, Georgian Press, 1979, p. 396.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to First National Bank Building (Portland, Oregon).
  • 1970 photograph, when "First National Bank" name was still showing on façade