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The American Security and Trust Company Building is a Neoclassical bank office in
American Security Bank was founded in 1889 in
''
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, designed by the architectural firm of York and Sawyer
York and Sawyer was an American architectural firm active between 1898 and 1949, subsequently as the Office of York & Sawyer, Architects; Kiff, Colean, Voss & Souder into the mid-1950s; and was succeeded by Kiff, Colean, Voss & Souder, who were ac ...
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1973.
Design
The building's neoclassical exterior closely matches that of theRiggs National Bank
Riggs National Bank is the historic former headquarters building of Riggs Bank, located at 1503–1505 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the downtown Washington, D.C. neighborhood.
Designed by architects York and Sawyer in 1899 ...
building next door, also designed by York and Sawyer and completed in 1902, so they are sometimes considered a single building. The east facade of the building presents a multiple bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
arrangement with two plain bays flanking a hexastyle portico of six Ionic column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
s and entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
, while the narrower and plainer south face has a single bay with two plain Doric pilaster
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s flanking the entrance in a shallow recess. The parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
conceals three skylight
A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes.
History
O ...
s. Although the exterior has two rows of windows, the interior is a single floor, also decorated in the neoclassical style; it was remodeled in 1931–1932 but retained essentially the same form except for the removal of a pair of balconies and new openings into the adjoining annex which was constructed at the same time to the north. A basement floor formerly contained vaults, but with the construction of the annex, these were moved to the adjoining building. The building exterior is constructed of granite ashlar
Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones.
Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
s with deep horizontal joints at the corners, creating a striped effect; the interior is largely faced in various marbles.
History
American Security Bank was founded in 1889 in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
, as a bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
ing and trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit
* Trust (bu ...
concern, operating a branch in the District of Columbia at 1419 G Street, NW; the following year it reincorporated in the District and moved to 1405 G Street. Its president was Charles James Bell (Dublin, April 12, 1858 – October 1, 1929), nephew of Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...
.Death List of a Day: David Charles Bell''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', October 29, 1902. It was the second trust company established in the District and the first to offer a women's department. By 1903, the business had grown so that a new location was sought again. The present location (a block from Lafayette Square and part of the Lafayette Square Historic District) was selected, and construction began in 1904. The design was praised in the banking press and featured in ''The American Architect and Building News'' in 1905.
The building now houses a branch of Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
as a result of the latter's merger with NationsBank
NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company named NationsBank was formed through the merger of several other banks in 1991, and prior to that had been through mul ...
, which purchased MNC Financial in 1993. MNC had purchased American Security Bank in 1987 but continued to operate it under the original name.
Due to its location immediately north of the Treasury Building, the building appeared on the back of the ten dollar bill for many years, a fact American Security took advantage of in its advertising with the slogan, "Right on the money".
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington, D.C.References
{{Authority control Commercial buildings completed in 1905 Bank of America buildings Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C. 1905 establishments in Washington, D.C. Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Washington, D.C.