Property Record
151 W MAPLE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LANCASTER |
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| Other Name: | KINNEY & URBAN, ATTORNEYS |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 45334 |
| Location (Address): | 151 W MAPLE ST |
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| County: | Grant |
| City: | Lancaster |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Range: | |
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| Year Built: | 1903 |
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| Additions: | 1923 |
| Survey Date: | 2005 |
| Historic Use: | bank/financial institution |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | CLAUDE & STARCK |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Courthouse Square Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 4/7/2006 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/20/2006 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A NEO-CLASSICAL ADDITION TO LANCASTER'S COMMERCIAL DISTRICT, THIS STRUCTURE IS CHARACTERIZED BY A DENTICULATED CORNICE, BRACKETS, QUOINS, IONIC PILASTERS, EGG AND DART MOLDING, AND A CLASSICALLY DETAILED LOWER STOREFRONT AREA WHICH IS A MODIFICATION OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN. THIS TWO STORY BANK BUILDING HAS A RECTANGULAR PLAN CONFIGURATION, A FLAT ROOF AND A BRICK EXTERIOR. IT WAS FOUND TO BE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. THE HISTORIC COMMERCIAL TENNANT OF THIS BUILDING WAS A BANK WHICH CONDUCTED BUSINESS FROM 1903 TO 1959. (A,F). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LANCASTER WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1903 AND IN 1914, REORGANIZED AS THE LANCASTER STATE BANK UNDER THE STATE CHARTER. (B). A VICTIM OF THE DEPRESSION, THE BANK CLOSED ITS DOOR APRIL 8, 1930, BUT REOPENED JANUARY 12, 1931, WITH M. W. IRGENS FROM THE GOODHUE STATE BANK, GOODHUE, MINNESOTA, AS CASHIER. (D) IN 1959, THE BANK CONSTRUCTED A NEW FACILITY (237 W. MAPLE STREET, 47/27) AND THIS STRUCTURE WAS CONVERTED TO OFFICE USE. (F) AN EARLY PHOTO OF THE BUILDING, SHOWING ROUND ARCHED ENTERANCES OUTLINED BY STONE, IS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE LANCASTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY. (E) (NOTE: IN ORR'S ARTICLE (C), THE LANCASTER STATE BANK IS LISTED AS THE WORK OF ARCHITECTS CLAUDE & STARCK AND DESCRIBED AS APPEARING "TO BE A CLASSICAL REMODELING OF A SMALL CORNER OF A COMMERCIAL BLOCK." THE HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPH IN THE COLLECTION OF THE LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY SHOWS THAT THE BANK BUILDING, EXCEPT FOR THE ALTERATIONS TO THE FIRST FLOOR, APPEARS AS CONSTRUCTED). 2005- This modest size, two-story-tall, rectilinear plan building occupies a prominent lot that forms the southwest corner of this block.I It was built in 1903-1904 to house the First National Bank of Lancaster. The building has walls clad in tan brick that are crowned by a bracketed overhanging cornice. The principal facade faces south onto W. Maple St. and features a first story storefront with rental space in the second story above. The appearance of this building today, however, is somewhat different than as originally built. Historic photos show that the main entrance to the bank was originally deeply inset into the southwest corner of the building's main facade and it was accessed through semi-circular-arched openings that were placed on either side of the corner. This device created what was in effect an inset open porch that sheltered the entrance and it also resulted in the appearance of a modest arcade. Placed to the right of this porch, which had just a single arched opening on either side, was a large paired window group that acted as a display window that provided light to the interior. This design remained in place until later in the second decade of the century. Eventually, the bank decided to update its entrance by having a new, classically derived, dressed stone storefront built that spanned the width of the main facade. This storefront is divided into four identical-width bays by five fluted Ionic pilasters and the new entrance to the bank is located in the second bay from the right and the entrance to the second story in the right-hand bay. Interestingly, this new storefront was the work of the Madison architectural firm of Claude & Starck, whose excellent Lancaster Municipal Building was constructed on the other side of the square between 1922 and 1923 and which was designed in the Prairie School style for which they are best known. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. 1905 TAX ASSESSMENT RECORDS, ARC, UW-PLATTEVILLE. B. PAUL J. HOFFMAN, "HISTORY OF BANKS IN LANCASTER," N.D. LANCASTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY. C. GORDON D. ORR, "LOUIS W. CLAUDE: MADISON ARCHITECT OF THE PRAIRIE SCHOOL," PRAIRIE SCHOOL REVIEW 14 (1981):31. D. GRANT COUNTY HERALD, 7,14 JANUARY 1931. E. PHOTO COLLECTION, LANCASTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY (CONTACT LaVON HALL). F. INTERVIEW, LARRY OLSON, PRESIDENT, LANCASTER STATE BANK. 2005, Tim Heggland. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Courthouse Square Historic District. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |