Commercial National Bank Building - Houston, Texas
Posted by: 
JimmyEv
N 29° 45.791 W 095° 21.617
15R E 271784 N 3294878
Facing the intersection of Franklin and Main an impressive rounded bay, trimmed with limestone, graces this 1904 Beaux-Arts bank and Western Union depot designed by Houston architects Green & Svarz.
Waymark Code: WM3WMC
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/26/2008
Views: 55
Main Street was the commercial axis of early Houston, running from the wharves at Allen’s Landing south onto the open prairie. The earliest commercial buildings lining Main Street were simple clapboard, wood-frame structures - looking not much different than houses - including the bank buildings that developed at the intersection of Main and Franklin.
With the discovery of oil in near-by Beaumont and the opening of the Houston Ship Channel, Houston boomed in the early part of the 20th century, right up until the Depression. The wood-frame financial institutions lining these blocks of Main Street, including Commercial National Bank, were demolished and rebuilt, changing their architectural styles, and the face of the street, from Victorian to Beaux-Arts.
Main Street/Market Square Historic District
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Source:
Texas Historical Commission, "Main Street/Market Square Historic District," available at Texas Historical Atlas