Home Building Association Bank

The Home Building Association Bank (or Home Building Association Company) is a historic building located at 1 North Third Street in Newark, Ohio, United States, and was designed by noted Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. It is one of eight banks designed by Sullivan. In 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Home Building Association Bank
Location1 N. Third St., Newark, Ohio
Coordinates40°3′28.3″N 82°24′10.7″W
Built1914
ArchitectSullivan, Louis
Architectural styleLate-19th- and early-20th-century American Movements, Sullivanesque
NRHP reference No.73001495[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 2, 1973

Of note is the building's rather high number of owners: since its construction, Home Building Association Bank has been home to two financial institutions, a butcher shop, a jewelry store, and an ice cream parlor. Its interior was modified for each occupant.

For this project, Sullivan was given a narrow lot but made the building larger by making it two stories high, something that he did not typically do in his banks. The color scheme chosen here deviates from his normal red-brown brick tapestry surface. Instead the building is covered with gray-green terra cotta slabs that are edged with typical Sullivanesque border designs. The ornamentation included a winged lion quite similar to the ones to be found in Cedar Rapids, Grinnell and Sidney. Little mention is made in the literature about Sullivan as to why these creatures populate his banks. Also unique is the presence of Sullivan's name in the tile mosaic over the front door.

History

The Home Building Association Bank was built in 1914 and opened on August 25, 1915, as The Home Building Association Company, commonly known as "The Old Home". It was one of three banks designed by Sullivan in 1914, the other two being in Grinnell, Iowa, and in West Lafayette, Indiana.

In 1942, the Home Building Association Bank was sold to William Camlin. From 1943 to 1946, Sanitary Meat Market occupied the building, and from 1946 to 1973, Symon's Best Jewelry Company took over.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973.[2]

From 1979 to 1983, the building was occupied by Mutual Federal Savings and Loan Association. Tiffany's Ice Cream Parlor was the last business in the building, from 1984 to 2007.

The building was donated to the Licking County Foundation in December 2013. The Licking County Foundation plans to restore the building, and when the renovation is complete, Explore Licking County, the county's convention and visitors bureau will move into the space.[3] In 2016, basement rehabilitation began, and was completed that October. Exterior restoration took place from May 2019 to 2021, restoring the building's facades. Interior work, the third stage of the project, involved fundraising in 2023, and is expected to be completed in 2024.[4]

Images
  • East facade and main entrance
    East facade and main entrance
  • Tile mosaic over main entrance
    Tile mosaic over main entrance
  • South facade
    South facade
  • South facade ornamentation
    South facade ornamentation
  • Sculptural work on the south facade
    Sculptural work on the south facade
  • Interior amid renovation, 2020
    Interior amid renovation, 2020
  • South facade, 1985
    South facade, 1985
  • South and east facades, 1985
    South and east facades, 1985

Other Louis Sullivan "jewel boxes"

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "National Register of Historical Places - OHIO (OH), Licking County". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  3. Jeffries, Anna (June 9, 2016). "Sullivan restoration to begin soon; fundraising continues". newarkadvocate.com. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  4. Mallett, Kent (April 20, 2023). "Auction raises funds for Licking County Foundation's Sullivan Building restoration project". newarkadvocate.com. Retrieved June 10, 2023.

Further reading
  • Elia, Mario Manieri, Louis Henry Sullivan, Princeton Architectural Press, Princeton NY, 1996
  • Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, The Louis Sullivan Pilgrimage, unpublished manuscript
  • Morrison, Hugh, "Louis Sullivan: Prophet of Modern Architecture", W.W. Norton and Company, New York, 1963
  • Tebben, Joseph R., "The Old Home: Louis Sullivan's Newark Bank", McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Newark OH, 2014
  • Twombly, Robert, Louis Sullivan: His Life and Work, Elizabeth Sifton Books - Viking, New York, 1986
  • Vinci, John, "The Art Institute of Chicago: The Stock Exchange Trading Room", The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL, 1977
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