First Agricultural Bank - Park Square Historic District - Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Posted by: 
elyob
N 42° 27.002 W 073° 15.200
18T E 643632 N 4701223
The Agricultural National Bank is at the southeast corner of the intersection of North Street and Fenn Street.
Waymark Code: WM10D20
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 04/16/2019
Views: 6
The following text is taken from the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System web site.
This 1908 Classical Revival-style building is five stories in height, three bays
wide and seven bays deep. The main facade has a full portico supported
by four fluted Ionic columns. The main entrance is framed by the two
central columns in the portico. The entablature that frames the top of
the entrance is further ornamented with a cartouche. The seven-bay
side elevation is accentuated by Ionic pilasters that frame each set
of windows.
The First Agricultural Bank at 100 North Street is one of the finest buildings
in the Park Square Historic District Extension and is the most imposing
building on North Street. Designed by Mssrs Mowbray and Uffin of New York and
constructed in 1908-1909, the building is the Bank's fourth home. The
building's elegant Classical Revival Style attests to the bank's importance in
Pittsfield's commercial and civic life.
The First Agricultural Bank was chartered in 1818, with Thomas Gold as
president and Ezekiel Colt, Cashier. Much of the impetus for its
establishment was provided by Nathan Appleton who saw Pittsfield as an ideal
location for the bank because of its favorable geographic location and because
there were no other banks in town. The bank flourished alongside with
Pittsfield's major industries: paper, textile, shoe and electrical goods
manufacturing, and remains a prominent institution to this day.