History Walk Site 11: Farmer's & Merchant's Bank

The Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank Building was built in 1892 as the home of Downers Grove’s first bank, which was organized on May 10, 1892. Prominent local contractor William James Herring constructed the building using an amalgam of popular architectural styles. The quarry-faced base and fully round arch of local limestone suggest Richardsonian Romanesque, while the pressed metal turret on the corner has ornament and a dome profile that evoke the Renaissance Revival. Banks and other prominent buildings often chose corner locations in the last quarter of the 19th century because they afforded a prominent position in the downtown streetscape. Here, as was frequently the case, the main business entrance was at the very corner in a chamfer and topped by a projecting turret that cantilevered from the front and side facades to increase its visibility far down Main Street. 

Seemingly as proof of the building’s visual and functional prominence, the bank donated a room in their new home to the newly formed Ladies Library Association to function as Downers Grove’s first public library. For a few years in the early 1890s the Post Office was located in an office at the building’s east end. In 1895, the building housed the Reporter Columbian Magazine, whose sign is visible in the second-floor window in the photo at the lower right. 

In 1944, the building was considerably remodeled. In an effort to give the building a more up-to-date appearance, the turret was removed, the windows were truncated, and the face brick of the bank and that of its neighbor to the north were coated with a layer of cement that was colored and tooled to resemble squared-ashlar stone. The bank’s original rough-hewn limestone base and arch are still visible.