Former Taylor National Bank Building - Taylor, TX - Converted Bank Buildings on Waymarking.com

"The old Taylor National Bank is located on a corner lot at the intersection of Second and Main Streets, Taylor, Texas. The three storied building is approximately fifty feet tall, and it is long and narrow in configuration (25' X 90'). The building style is a combination of Renaissance and Romanesque influences. The exterior walls of the ground floor are faced with rough-cut red sandstone which is applied in connecting arches along the west and south facades (the north and east facades join adjacent structures). The second and third stories are red brick with limestone and granite decorative detailing. The Renaissance influence is seen in the detailing of brick columns which are set out from the wall surface. These columns are crowned with plain limestone capitals at the second story, but the third floor columns exhibit a capital that shows Corinthian order in the use of the acanthus leaf motif, but the echinus resembles an Ionic volute. [...]

The Taylor National Bank was established in 1888 by C. H. Booth, Sr. Booth had been a director of the First National Bank of Taylor which was established five years earlier, but his desire for the new bank was that it should involve a wide range of stockholders and be a "people owned" bank. The bank purchased the lot at Main and Broad (later renamed Second)Streets in 1888 for $ 4800. However, the three-story structure of brick and stone was not begun until May, 1894. This structure was designed by a prominent Austin architect named A. O. Watson. Taylor began as a small railroad community which was created by the International and Great Northern Railroad in 1876. A fire in 1879 burned the entire downtown area, which was composed entirely of frame buildings at that time. By the 1880s, large numbers of Swedish, German, and Czechoslovakian settlers began moving into Taylor and the surrounding area. The vast majority of the immigrants were farmers. Therefore, as Taylor began to rebuild in the 1880s, the city took on a new character. Building was done in more permanent materials such as brick and stone, and businesses began to thrive as farming caught on in the area. For many years Taylor and Williamson County were leaders in cotton. production in the state. Taylor National Bank and the community prospered during this period. The second floor of the bank was used from 1894-1934 by the law firm of Mantor and Briggs. The third floor and roof here used by the United States Weather Bureau from 19011930. The Taylor Refining Company took over the third floor from 1930-1939 when nearby Thrall, Texas experienced a shortlived oil boom. The Depression of the 30's led to the merger of Taylor National Bank with First National Bank 1931.

The bank then became known as the First Taylor National Bank, an institution which conducts business today in a location at the opposite end of the same block where their earlier home was located."

Source: Williamson County Historical Commission

Address: 200 Main St. Taylor, TX 76574 USA Year: 1894 Website: [Web Link] Current Use of Building: vacant / for lease

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