Old Second National Bank (Aurora, Illinois)
Encyclopedia
The Old Second National Bank of Aurora is a historic building in Aurora
, Illinois
. It was designed in the Prairie School
style by George Grant Elmslie
and was one of his last commissions.
in 1924. The Prairie School
style of design was, at this point, already a fading trend. Elmslie was nearing the end of his career and began to accept commissions for commercial buildings. Elmslie recruited Emil Settler, John Norton, and Kristian Schneider to assist him with the design.
The bank building was a departure from previous Elmslie designs. Instead of focusing on horizontal patterns, this building attempted to integrate vertical patterns into a Prairie School design. The bank is built with roman brick
on a pink granite
foundation. The building is topped with a saddleback gable
with red tile. Ten brick columns rise from the foundation to the roof. Only the south side of the building features exterior details and ornaments. The narrow cornice is terra cotta
and follows the gable. John Norton painted a three-panel mural of 1830s Aurora on the north side of the building's interior. A red tile floor was intended to resemble a large oriental rug
. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on May 8, 1979.
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. It was designed in the Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
style by George Grant Elmslie
George Grant Elmslie
George Grant Elmslie was an American, though born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Prairie School architect whose work is mostly found in the Midwestern United States...
and was one of his last commissions.
History
The Old Second National Bank of Aurora was designed by George Grant ElmslieGeorge Grant Elmslie
George Grant Elmslie was an American, though born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Prairie School architect whose work is mostly found in the Midwestern United States...
in 1924. The Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
style of design was, at this point, already a fading trend. Elmslie was nearing the end of his career and began to accept commissions for commercial buildings. Elmslie recruited Emil Settler, John Norton, and Kristian Schneider to assist him with the design.
The bank building was a departure from previous Elmslie designs. Instead of focusing on horizontal patterns, this building attempted to integrate vertical patterns into a Prairie School design. The bank is built with roman brick
Roman brick
Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick originating in Ancient Rome and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type of brick, inspired by the ancient prototypes...
on a pink granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
foundation. The building is topped with a saddleback gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
with red tile. Ten brick columns rise from the foundation to the roof. Only the south side of the building features exterior details and ornaments. The narrow cornice is terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
and follows the gable. John Norton painted a three-panel mural of 1830s Aurora on the north side of the building's interior. A red tile floor was intended to resemble a large oriental rug
Oriental rug
An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile.By definition - Oriental rugs are rugs that come from the orient...
. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on May 8, 1979.