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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us September 20, 2005 Bank architecture has gone awry By Brent Thompson Ashland Before World War II, bank buildings were imposing architectural models of classical quality, substance and permanence. By their aesthetic architecture, they conveyed a sense of stability and security. Banks had the grandeur of marble, columns, Roman arches, quality woodwork and polished brass. Banks were community anchors, and entering a bank felt like an important event. Often, banks were multiple stories and housed other entities on the upper floors. But after World War II, this changed. The architecture of bank buildings became lower-profile, trendy and faddish as they too embodied, reflected and encouraged the American cultural climate of automobile dependence and unprecedented resource waste in land-use planning and in general. Banks increasingly took a form and appearance similar to franchises. This coincided with the reduction of services as banks centralized functions. They ceased having the physical form of what a vital part of a community ought to have. Banks abandoned their multistory classical architecture, their downtown locations, their orientation to the street, their contribution to streetscapes and their frugal use of land. In Ashland’s downtown, the most prominent-looking “bank building” is the First National Bank building, which now houses one of Ashland’s most prominent, solid and enduring institutions, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Across the street we have Wells Fargo, formerly First Interstate Bank, which takes up one city block for one purpose — banking. This city-block bank dedicated to one purpose features a building which, although low-profile and architecturally faddish, does have three stories for a small part of the structure. However, there is something wrong with a bank being the sole user of one square block to accomplish its purpose in a town of 20,000 people. Downhill on Pioneer Street is the modern-style Umpqua Bank, formerly Valley of the Rogue Bank, which in a small part is a two stories in a building that at least houses another business and that has the warmth of wood on its exterior. Also downtown in modern, one-story, single-use, undistinguished buildings we have Key Bank, and the “tilt ups” Washington Mutual (formerly Western Bank) and US Bank, all architectural embarrassments. There is also the two-story Rogue Federal Credit Union, which at least is a model of efficient land use. On Highway 66 there is the sweeping, high ceiling and therefore difficult-to-heat Sterling Bank and mallish-looking Bank of America. And soon we will also have Premier West, also on Highway 66, and Peoples Bank of Commerce on Siskiyou Boulevard, both in ex-fast-food enterprises. It is a good sign that fast-food sales can be so poor in Ashland that major franchises close, but it will be a bad sign if the buildings are easily recognized as ex-fast-food structures. But what should banks look like? Briefly, they should be multiple-storied buildings housing multiple businesses, never one-story buildings. They should be models of the frugal use of land and other resources. They should embody permanence in architectural style and quality. For example, arches and columns have been used for a couple of thousand years, and are still appealing. Bricks, stone, quarry tile, detailed woodwork, copper and brass are timeless, attractive and suitable materials for enduring construction. Pitched roofs appeal more than flat roofs. Architects know what to use, but they need direction and license to use them. Banks can have tremendous influence in communities by establishing standards for excellence, quality and timelessness. Maybe someday we’ll see that in Ashland and other cities. In the meantime, I want to move what money I have to the First National Bank, if it ever reopens. Brent Thompson is a resident of Ashland and the president of the Friends of Jackson County. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams