Lewis Brothers Building (Bank of Fayetteville)

For nearly a century, this two-story red brick building with its corner tower topped by a conical roof anchored the northwest corner of Fayetteville Square as a hardware store. The building began as the W. T. Farrar hardware store, but it was soon sold to five Lewis brothers and became Lewis Brothers Hardware. A corner entrance stands behind a single cast-iron column that supports the crenellated and dentiled round tower. Further ornamentation includes brick and terra-cotta patterns at the entablatures. In 1986 the hardware store closed, and the following year John Lewis, one of the five Lewis brothers, established the Bank of Fayetteville in the building. The restoration included the replacement of the conical tower, which had disappeared at some point over the years. Inside are an ornate pressed metal ceiling, diagonal oak plank floors, oak handrails and stairs, and marble-topped tellers’ counters.

Across Center Street, the Old Bank of Fayetteville (1889) is a four-story building with a rugged stone base, red brick for the upper floors, and a canted corner entrance. Typically for commercial buildings of this size and its era, the building features rectangular windows separated by pilasters, lintels emphasized in white stone, and a strong cornice.