You are here

Wisconsin » The Northern Moraine » Fond Du Lac County » Fond Du Lac » Old Commercial National Bank

Old Commercial National Bank

-A A +A
1903. 91 S. Main St.
  • (Photograph by Paul J. Jakubovich, courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society)

Richardsonian Romanesque was on the wane by the time this bank was built, but few small-scale commercial buildings express the design principles articulated by H. H. Richardson as well as this one. The building’s squat proportions, heavy rock-faced brownstone, and broad arches add a sense of massiveness and weight. The round arches in the storefront-level arcade, springing from short columns with squat, foliated cushion capitals, are characteristic of the style, as is heavy, bold ornamentation, including contrasting archivolt trim and craggy cornices. Above the capitals, flanking the 1st Street entrance, two regal stone lions rest, haughtily observing passersby. Although the windows have been altered, the building’s overall richness of form and texture remain intact.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Marsha Weisiger et al.
×

Data

What's Nearby

Kreugers Depot (Fond du Lac Depot, Chicago and North Western Railway)
Aetna Fire Station No. 5
Edwin H. and Maria Galloway House

Citation

Marsha Weisiger et al., "Old Commercial National Bank", [Fond du Lac, Wisconsin], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WI-01-FD5.

Print Source

Buildings of Wisconsin

Buildings of Wisconsin, Marsha Weisiger and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2017, 236-236.

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,