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Merchants National Bank

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1925, Weary and Alford. West corner of 2nd Ave. and 3rd St. S.E.
  • (Photograph by Catherine Boland Erkkila)
  • (Photograph by Catherine Boland Erkkila)

This 12-story office and bank building was the city's most distinguished skyscraper of the twenties. The architects employed the traditional tripartite design in the building; there is a base articulated by three-story arcades, a neutral shaft of paired and single double-hung windows, and then a terminal attic composed of arched windows, decorative cartouches, and a strongly cantilevered roof. The most unusual feature here is the way in which the three-story base has been designed to be experienced almost as a separate podium upon which the rest of the building has been placed.

Writing Credits

Author: 
David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim
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Data

What's Nearby

Hotel Roosevelt
World Theater
Dragon Chinese Restaurant
Cedar Rapids Savings Bank Building (now Guaranty Bank and Trust Company)
Brenton Financial Center

Citation

David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim, "Merchants National Bank", [Cedar Rapids, Iowa], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IA-01-CE073.

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