Niles & Watters Savings Bank - Anamosa, Iowa - Converted Bank Buildings on Waymarking.com

Originally constructed in 1884 by the banking firm of Niles & Watters, this edifice was face-lifted circa 1923 by the same firm. Because of this radical redesign, the block should be evaluated as a 1920s edifice. It appears today as a 2-story, brick commercial block. The storefront of the west room preserves the general configuration of its c. 1923 design. The east room originally formed a part of the Scott Block next door and was included as part of the circa 1923 remodeling. The 108 East Main Street storefront has been infilled with Jones County limestone, foreshortened windows, and an off-centered door. The upper story possesses high integrity of its c. 1923 design. Elizabeth J. Coleman reports, "This brick building was built in 1884 by C. L. Niles and George Watters. The Monticello Express contains limited accounts of its progress. By October 1884, it was being occupied by Niles & Watters as a bank. The bank was a privately owned bank until January of 1905, when articles of incorporation were filed. Bank vaults still remain. There is a Mosler vault door that has railroad tie supports between the basement and first floor. An old style Diebold safe also remains. It has double doors on the outside. It is black with fancy gold trim." The construction date of the block is documented by an article in The Monticello Express, May 29, 1884. Finn reports that "in 1923, when the brick dividing wall was torn down the brick wall was found to be as good as when originally constructed." Finn also notes that after its incorporation, the Niles & Watters bank remained in business until the Great Depression, when it ceased operations. The original 1884 building included a parapet, which rose above its neighbors by four or five feet.

As in most other rural cities across Iowa, the Great Depression, beginning in 1929, scarred the lives of Anamosa residents. Farmers, who had bought land at high prices in the 1920s, could not repay their loans. The Anamosa National Bank—whose founding harkened back to Colonel Shaw and Lawrence Schoonover's 1873 institution—failed. The Niles & Watters Bank also closed its doors in the 1930s. In the rural areas, crops failed in inordinately dry weather. Commerce stagnated in town.