Missouri/Sedalia Trust Company - Sedalia, Missouri - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

The Missouri/Sedalia Trust Building is rectangular in shape & exhibits both Romanesque & Chateauesque details in style. When originally constructed the building had 3 stories resting on a raised basement & elevated primary entrances to the E, S & at the SE corner. When the building was altered the floor levels were changed to a 4 story format & the entrances were lowered to street level. Despite these interior changes the exterior fenestration remained the same. Windows originally were 1/1 with those on the 1st & 2nd stories having a rectangular shape with a transom, 3rd story openings had arched headers with smooth surface stone voussoirs. After the alteration, the original 1st floor windows were elongated & replaced with a multilight sash. Basement windows echoed this pattern. Two arched windows at the original 1st floor were cut away so as to form rectangular headers & to complement the other windows at that level. Third story windows were left intact. The secondary entrances to the E & S retained their pedimented caps & ornately carved floral corbels. The chamfered primary entrance, below the SE tower, is the area most severely effected by the alterations. Originally it was inset & flanked by decorative columns supporting a heavy arched cap & name plate. It now has double leaf doors set flush with the exterior walls with a multi-light window above.

Of particular importance to the design & style of this fine example of Victorian commercial architecture are two elements: the multigable & towered roofline & the heavily embellished wall surface. To the E & S are small pedimented gables filled with decorative moldings. The central gable on the S facade is accented by a small circular turret, the roof of which was recently altered due to fire. However it continues to echo the bellcast roofline of the 3 story tower at the SE comer. Carved finials highlight the hip roofed, S facade dormers. The wall surface with its rich variety of textures, including rock faced, checkerboard, smooth s carved stone, creates a constant play of light & dark which adds to the Victorian quality of the large Trust Building.