State Savings Bank

The State Savings Bank Building is of architectural significance as a superbly designed Neo-classical style building displaying fine craftsmanship and exemplifying the work of the nationally prominent architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White of New York. The State Savings Bank Building assumed its present form as a result of the merger of two Detroit banks. The Peoples Savings Bank had been established in 1871 by wealthy financier and real estate investor, Francis Palms. Palms was the patriarch of an important Detroit family noted for their elaborate early twentieth century building projects. In 1907 the Peoples Savings Bank merged with the State Savings Bank (established in 1883) to form the Peoples State Bank. The new firm made its home in the fine structure that the State Savings Bank had constructed in 1900 when it was the largest bank in Detroit. By 1915, the Peoples State Bank had outgrown these quarters. The Detroit architects Donaldson and Meier were commissioned to design a harmonious addition that more than doubled the size of the building. The area on Fort and Congress Streets between Woodward Avenue and Shelby Street had become the financial district of Detroit by 1900 and has remained the center of banking in the city. The construction of the Detroit branch of Federal Reserve Bank directly across the street from the State Savings Bank in 1927, where it is still located, reinforced the importance of the corner of Fort and Shelby as the financial heart of the business district. As a result, the State Savings Bank remained in continuous use as a bank. By 1928, it was occupied by People's Wayne County Bank. Following the dissolution of this company during the Depression, it was taken over as home office of the Manufacturers National Bank (1933), which it remained until early 1980. In 1980 the structure was acquired by Silvers, Inc., an office supply company. They have sensitively rehabilitated the structure for use as an office supply showroom without altering its important architectural features. They wish to have the building listed in the National Register in recognition of its historical and architectural importance. The State Savings Bank is architecturally significant as an accomplished example of turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts classical design by master architects McKim, Mead and White of New York. Considered to be an important design by the firm, it was published in their monograph in 1915. This is the only structure in Michigan designed by this office, which was considered to be the pre-eminent American architectural firm of its period. The actual construction was overseen by the locally esteemed Detroit architects Donaldson and Meier. In 1916, when it was enlarged, John M. Donaldson of that firm, who had been trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, was hired to design the addition. He slavishly copied the design of the earlier structure, which was attributed to Stanford White in the firm’s monograph, with the result that the addition is indistinguishable from the original construction.

151 West Fort – State Savings Bank – Steel frame, two-and-a-half-story Neoclassical bank building faced in white marble (1900, 1914). 1900 half fronting on Fort designed by McKim, Mead & White; 1914 rear addition south to Congress designed by Donaldson & Meier. National Register of Historic Places, State of Michigan Historic Marker, City of Detroit Historic District. This is the only Michigan building designed by McKim, Mead & White. The Fort Street façade is divided into three bays, the two side bays featuring tall rounded arches. The center bay’s recessed entrance is marked by two fluted Ionic columns. The classical cornice is topped by a central cartouche flanked by two female figures. The spacious interior is well-lit due to a broad west-facing arcade of bronze framed windows. The 1914 addition is so faithful in design to the original that it is difficult to detect where it begins. The building shares its eastern property line with the 1905 and 1916 Penobscot Buildings. The Congress Street façade is also divided into three bays, with one for the center entrance. However, the entrance is a simple recessed street-level doorway, and the bronze frame windows above are flanked by pilasters. The building has a double hipped roof. At a mid-century date, a second-story pedestrian bridge was installed over Shelby Street connecting the State Savings Bank building to the building at 607 Shelby. A State of Michigan historic marker is displayed on the Shelby Street façade. The State Savings Bank was established in 1883 by Kentucky capitalists David Hamilton and T. S. Anderson. In 1907 it merged into the Peoples State Savings Bank, established in 1872 by Francis Palms and other Detroit investors. Peoples failed in 1933 and the building stood empty until 1944 when the Manufacturers National Bank of Detroit occupied the building. Manufacturers moved out in 1977. Since then the building has housed commercial and office operations.