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 Douglas County Bank - Waterville, WA Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 47° 38.851 W 120° 04.301
10T E 719914 N 5281279
The final purpose built bank in the Downtown Waterville Historic District, the neoclassical Douglas County Bank building is also the most easily recognizable as a bank.
Waymark Code: WMYHBX
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 06/16/2018
Views: 1
The Downtown Waterville Historic District encompasses all of one block of Locust Street plus the west end of a second block and a few buildings along North and South Chelan Avenue. In all there are 17 contributing and 2 non contributing buildings in the district. All buildings are of brick, save for the Centennial Feed Building, a single storey wood framed building on the west side of North Chelan. The brick for the district was manufactured locally in brick yards, first established in 1889. The oldest structure in the district, on the northeast corner of Locust Street and Chelan Avenue, is the First National Bank/Kincaid/IOOF Block, constructed in 1891.
While that building was the first substantial bank in Waterville, this, the Douglas County Bank, was the last, construction on the neoclassical structure beginning in 1910, with the official opening taking place in 1911. Easily the most striking building in the district, it, along with two other earlier banks on the corner of Locust & Chelan, forms the anchor for the historic district.
Established in 1890, the Douglas County Bank was the first bank in the county, likely opening in a wood framed building and moving into the First National Bank building across Chelan Avenue when it was completed in 1892, occupying the ground floor of the IOOF section of the building.
Here's a bit of the history of the building, originally from the Wenatchee World:
The bank was built in 1910, and opened as the Douglas County Bank in January 1911. A report in the Big Bend Empire marveled at the building's "incandescent lamps" and the "splendid apartments of the manager's office. No pains have been spared to make this one of the most handsome buildings of its kind in Central Washington," the paper raved.
In 1927 the building passed to the Douglas County State Bank, which was liquidated by the state in 1936. The next year the building was sold to the Bank of Waterville. It was home to several more banks over the decades. The last was Rainier Bank, which moved down the street in 1981 and deeded the building to the city.
It stood empty until the early 1990s, when Lori and Ross Grandanette bought it and opened a graphic arts studio in the basement. The Hunters' work on the bank comes on the heels of other renovations, including the Waterville Hotel, which reopened in 1996, and the Nifty Theater, which was restored in 1998.
From the Wenatchee World
Douglas County Bank
Building #7: Douglas County Bank Building
Address: 100 North Chelan Avenue
Classification: Contributing
Date of Construction: 1911
Description: Located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Locust Street and Chelan Avenue, the Douglas County Bank Building is a distinguished example of the Neoclassical Style and a reflection of the "bank-as-temple" motif popular during the era. The structure, which measures 28 feet along Locust Street and 50 feet along Chelan, is built of pressed cream colored brick with a sandstone foundation and terra cotta trim. The walls of the building have a classical "rusticated" surface created by alternating bands of projecting and receding brick courses. The building is crowned by a monumental cornice, with dentils and modillions, and a shaped parapet. The corner entry is reached by a short flight of circular steps and is framed by colossal unfluted Doric columns. The large windows which illuminate the interior banking hall retain the original wood mullions and terra cotta heads with keystones. The original banking room was finished in mahogany and the bank housed a 10 by 18 foot vault constructed of reinforced concrete.
History: The Douglas County Bank was the first financial institution in the county, established about 1890 by A.E. Case and Frank Ford. Initially located in the Oddfellows Hall, the bank was one of the principal sources of funds for area farmers and ranchers. In 1907 the bank was capitalized at $50,000; by 1920, the bank had a capital reserve of $100,000.
The Neoclassical Style of the bank is unique in the downtown district—a bold statement that the bank was a stable and imposing institution on the economic landscape. When completed, the newspaper called the building a "credit to the town." The bank remained at the location until 1980 when it was sold by Rainier Bank to the city.
From the NRHP Registration Form
Address:
100 North Chelan Avenue
Waterville, WA
Year: 1910
Website: [Web Link]
Current Use of Building: Uncertain, presently for sale
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