| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
The State Bank was organized in 1906, built in 1913. To assuage public concern about the stability of their financial institutions, bankers nationwide sought to project an image of solidity, permanence, and wealth by erecting impressive buildings like this temple-front example in the Beaux-Arts Classical style, the architecture of choice for the federal government.
The facade of the two-story brick building is clad with terracotta, a fire-resistant ceramic material used to mimic stone. Colossal columns and pilasters in an interpretation of the Doric order support an entablature embellished with triglyphs and the bank’s name. Above, a triangular pediment is enriched by a shield-like cartouche at center and palmette acroteria at the apex and corners.
A stable image did not necessarily mean, in fact, stability. In November 1934, the bank fell victim to the Great Depression and closed its doors. Fortunately for depositors, the new administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in one of its first acts in 1933, had created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, making it possible for customers to recover their money.
Also, in 1933, this bank was robbed by two gun-wielding, Depression-era thugs. After ordering the employees and customers into the bank vaults and telling them not to set off the alarm, they fled in a Ford V-8 Coach. John Buerki sounded the alarm. After fleeing through Dane and Jefferson counties, stealing cars and wounding two, the thugs were arrested in Milwaukee and convicted. Insurance covered the bank loss.
The bank closed in 1935. From this site, editor Leroy Gore ran the Joe Must Go campaign. Over time the building housed numerous businesses. It is now the office of the Sauk Prairie Star, a newspaper with a history going back to 1848.
2023: The two-story State Bank is a Neoclassical building that was constructed in 1913. It has a rectangular plan, flat roof with pediment on the facade, rusticated stone foundation, and red brick and terra-cotta cladding. The front (east) facade features a pediment, statuary, stone motifs, and four prominent stone columns and piers. The windows include stained-glass transoms. The main entrance door and second-story windows are replacements. Above the main door an inscription in the terra cotta states, “Founded in 1906.” The side (north) elevation features four brick pilasters and a stone belt course. Two entrance doors on the first story appear to be replacements, and two entrance doors on the second story access a fire escape. The side elevation features two fixed replacement windows on the first story; double-hung, divided light windows on the second story; and windows infilled with brick on the second story. An adjacent building features a parapet and second-story balustrade that wraps around the rear and south side of the bank.
The 1913 building first operated as the State Bank, which was organized in 1906. Built in the Neoclassical style, the intention of the design was to invoke a sense of security and protection. The Sauk Prairie Star newspaper, which was formed in 1848, occupied the building beginning in 1935. The building now serves as an office with living quarters above. |
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