| Additional Information: | The oldest bank in Spart and in western Wisconsin is the Bank of Sparta and it was located at this site from 1864 to 1865. In 1864, at the end of the war, the Bank of Sparta erected the first two-story brick business building in the village at 106 South Water Street, designed by a Milwaukee architect.
This bank building lasted on this site until 1907. The Bank of Sparta stayed at the 106 South Water Street location and in 1906-1907 replaced its first brick building with a new building made of Bedford stone. This Bedford stone building is the structure standing here today. In 1965, the Sparta Bank moved from 106 South Water Street to its present location on the southeast corner of East Franklin and North Water Streets.
The Bank of Sparta Building gain slocal historic significance under Criterion A in association with the topic Banks under Sparta's Commerce Theme. The Bank of Sparta was the oldest bank in Sparta and in western Wisconsin. The Bank of Sparta was started on the eve of the great panic of 1857, and its history is closely tied with that of the community. The building's period of historical significance ranges from its erection and initial business occupation until 1965, when the Bank of Sparta moved.
This one-story Neo-Classical Revival styled brick bank building is characterized by a projecting Bedford stone portico extending the width of the facade. The portico features a triangular pediment ornamented by modillion blocks along the raking and horizontal cornices that is supported by massive Bedford stone square end piers on plain bases and fluted Ionic columns [under the false front] in antis. The facade is further characterized by a parapet that rises above the entablature. A recessed metal and glass storefront is located at the rear of the portico on the lower story of the facade.
The architectural character of the Bank of Sparta building was altered in 1966 when the old bank was remodeled into a mercantile establishment. The Classical revival exterior was altered by the addition of a false front to the Bedford marble portico, covering the top of the fluted stone Ionic columns and the top of the stone end piers. In addition, the lower story of the facade [located at the rear of the portico], originally characterized by a Classical styled centrally located entrance with an elaborate frontispiece and arched overlight and flanked by rectangular windows with bronze memoral plaques above, has been removed. When newly constructed, this former bank building exhibited an elaborate interior featuring marble wainscottong in the vestibule, bronze tablets bearing in relief the portraits of Thomas Tyler and Ira Hill, former presidents of the bank on the vestibule walls, mahogony and fumed oak interior woodwork and furnishings from te Wollaeger Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee, Roman mosaic floors and seven skylights; however, the interior, presently used as a retail space, has been completely remodeled in a contemporary manner.
The Bank of Sparta, a brick building, 35 ft. x 85 ft., with a Bedford [Indiana] stone front, native stone basement walls, and steel internal framing, was constructed on a concrete foundation by contractor Jac G. Schneider of Arcadia during the period between January 1906 and May 1907. The plans were created by La Crosse architects Parkinson and Dockendorff. Erected on the site of the previous brick Bank of Sparta building, constructed in 1864, the present bank building on the site was erected as a memorial to the late presidents of the bank, Ira Hill and Thomas Tyler, and was a gift to the bank from the Tyler-Hill family. The new bank was opened for business on May 17, 1907. The Bank of Sparta, established in Sparta in 1858, remained at this site until 1965, when they [presently known as the First Bank of Sparta] had a new building built at 145 North Water Street.
The Bank of Sparta does not meet the criteria of the NRHP for architectural significance because of a lack of integrity. Although many of the Classical Revival elements remain on the building, its architectural character has been diminished by the application of siding to part of its facade. However, the Bank of Sparta building has sufficient architectural character to contribute to the Water Street Commercial Street Historic District. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Sparta Herald Jan. 23, 1906; Jan. 30, 1906; May 5, 1906; Jan. 22, 1907; May 14, 1907; May 21, 1907; July 16, 1951.
(B) Monroe County History Room, Sparta, WI, Photograph Files, Photograph #376.
(C) City of Sparta, Community Development Office, Building Permit File.
(D) Sanborn Insurance Map 1889, 1894, 1900, 1911, 1922, 1931.
(E) City of Sparta Tax Records, 1870-1930.
(F) Ellsworth, C.S., Views in and Around Sparta, Giving a Brief History of the City and Setting Forth its Advantages for Manufacturing and as a Place of Residence, Together with Some Account of its Celebrated Magnetic Mineral Water. Portage, Wisconsin: Register Printing Company, 1888, p. 29.
(G) "History of Sparta," installment 15.
(H) Monroe County Democrat July 20, 1933.
(I) Monroe County Democrat, "Sparta-Up-To-Date," June 30, 1899:31.
(J) Bank of Sparta. Bank of Sparta: A Successful Fifty Years: 1858-1908. Unpublished Pamphlet.
(K) Koehler, Lyle P., From Frontier Settlement to Self-Conscious American Community: A History of One Rural Village (Sparta, Wisconsin) in the Nineteenth Century. Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, Inc. 1977, p. 42.
(L) Sparta Centennial Celebration Commitee, Sparta Incorporation City Centennial: 1883-1983 (1983), unpublished pamphlet, p. 34. |
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