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Virginia: Valley, Piedmont, Southside & Southwest » Piedmont » Amherst County » Amherst and Vicinity » Commercial Buildings

Commercial Buildings

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c. 1875–1925. 100 block of S. Main St.
  • Farmer's Bank (former) (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Farmer's Bank (former) (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Farmer's Bank (former) (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • 188–190 S. Main (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Sandidge Building (Photograph by Mark Mones)

Although Amherst's modest commercial block on Main Street has undergone many changes, three examples on its west side reflect its heyday. The former Farmers Bank (1924–1925, Stanhope S. Johnson; 186 S. Main), now the Municipal Building, is the strongest and most elaborate building in town. The yellow brick bank's recessed entrance is emphasized by two massive, fluted Doric columns that are echoed in the Doric pilasters flanking the side windows. A weighty entablature with triglyphs and metopes is given further heft by a paneled parapet with a central nameplate. At 188–190 S. Main (c. 1915) shallow pilasters delineate this brick building's three divisions, with modifications creating two store-fronts divided by a central entrance bay, and a pressed-metal cornice. The Italianate Sandidge Building (c. 1875; 194–196 S. Main) has two storefronts on the first story and a wide entablature with paired brackets supporting a projecting cornice.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Anne Carter Lee

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