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Before skyscrapers were even thought of, this corner lot in the center of town was occupied by a tavern and hotel, the Mechling House. The Marquis de Lafayette – General Lafayette – dined here on his way from Pittsburgh to Erie on June 1, 1825. Being on the western side of the Appalachians, it was as close as Butler got to ‘George Washington slept here.’ There’s even a plaque commemorating the visit on the side of the building.
Without canals, Butler was a sleepy agricultural village, a small stop on the new railroads. In the latter half of the 19th century, oil was discovered around the county. Oil changes everything. The town’s two banks weren’t capable of providing the massive infusions of cash required for oil exploration and drilling. Investors from around the country gathered in Butler and formed the Butler County National Bank. The Mechling House was demolished, and Butler County National Bank erected their first three-story building on the site in 1890. Investors carefully selected a location adjacent to the county courthouse for quick recording of mineral deeds and drilling rights.
In little more than a decade, the Butler County National Bank became the largest financial institution in the county. The New York City firm of Mowbray and Uffinger was commissioned to design the bank’s new home, Butler’s first skyscraper. The six-story French Renaissance Revival building, like most early skyscrapers, was divided into three distinct vertical components – a two-story base, a three-story shaft, and a single-story capital. The most prominent feature of the building, sheathed in Indiana limestone, is its curving entrance, framed by Ionic columns, at the intersection of Diamond and Main Streets.
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Both the Butler County National Bank and the U.S. Post Office shared the ground floor. The upper floors were occupied by professional offices, most involved in the oil industry. Both the post office and the bank outgrew their space by 1913. The post office relocated to a newly-built facility and the bank expanded into the post office’s space.
In 1930, to avoid the prospect of insolvency brought about by the Great Depression, the bank joined the Mellbank Group of Pittsburgh. It was eventually fully absorbed into Mellon Bank, becoming a branch. In the 1950s, Mellon Bank significantly altered the interior of the banking hall, removing most of the grandeur. But the gorgeous exterior remains mostly unaltered. |