First National Bank - Taylor Downtown Historic District - Taylor, TX - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

The First National Bank Building is a two-story brick structure, clad in stucco, displaying influences from late Victorian commercial architecture with Italianate inflections. The ground floor exterior treatment is scored to resemble stone, while the second story exterior treatment remains smooth.

The primary entrance faces northeast and is placed on a chamfered corner of the main facade. This entry represents the main facade, and is set off by corner pilasters and a gabled cornice. Secondary entrances occur on north elevation facing Second Street, and on the east elevation facing Main Street. These secondary portals provided entry into the various businesses housed within the bank building.

The north elevation displays consistent rhythm and clearly was designed as a subsidiary elevation. The rhythm of the east elevation is broken by the insertion of a secondary storefront, complete with a central entrance flanked by larger display widows. Lower floor windows are tripartite arched windows, with each section partitioned by milled wood trim. Several of these windows feature decorative leaded glass. The second floor of both the north and east elevations are separated from the ground floor by a double banded string course.

Windows at this level are similar on both elevations, characterized by segmental arch windows capped with hood moldings. The building is crowned by a pressed metal cornice, supported by pressed metal brackets and crowned with finials. The cornice was fabricated by Jno. Buass of Austin, who did much of the work on Congress Avenue. Significant interior features include a bank vault toward the northwest end of the building.