# Home Building Association Bank [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [SULLIVAN, Louis Henry]() - Date: 1851-1900 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The last phase in Sullivan's career was largely devoted to designing banks in small towns in the Midwest. Midwestern agriculture thrived in the early 20th century, leading to a revolution in rural banking and the proliferation of small institutions sympathetic to local needs. Sullivan's first commission in this field was the magnificent National Farmers' Bank \(1907-08\) in <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sullivan/81natio1.html'\)" href="/html/s/sullivan/81natio1.html">Owatonna, Minnesota.</a> It was followed by the People's Savings Bank \(1911\), <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sullivan/82people.html'\)" href="/html/s/sullivan/82people.html">Cedar Rapids, Iowa;</a> the Merchants' Bank \(1914\), <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sullivan/83merch1.html'\)" href="/html/s/sullivan/83merch1.html">Grinnell, Iowa;</a> the Home Building Association Bank \(1914\), <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sullivan/84homeb1.html'\)" href="/html/s/sullivan/84homeb1.html">Newark, Ohio;</a> the Purdue State Bank \(1914\), <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sullivan/85purdu1.html'\)" href="/html/s/sullivan/85purdu1.html">West Lafayette, Indiana;</a> the People's Federal Savings and Loan Association \(1917-18\), <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sullivan/86peofe1.html'\)" href="/html/s/sullivan/86peofe1.html">Sidney, Ohio;</a> and finally the Farmers and Merchants Union Bank \(1919\) in <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sullivan/87farmer.html'\)" href="/html/s/sullivan/87farmer.html">Columbus, Wisconsin.</a> The Home Building Association Bank, also known as "Old Home," has a smaller footprint than most of Sullivan's other Midwestern banks, but it does have a full second floor and basement. Its corner location gives the two-story, concrete-and-steel frame building two primary façades. Unlike Sullivan's other banks of this period, Old Home is not clad in tinted pressed brick; instead, the exterior elevations are terra-cotta blocks in a soft gray color. A decorative band at the top of each individual block creates a subtle horizontal banding pattern over the walls, forming the backdrop for the highly ornamented terra-cotta pieces in block and relief form that distinguish the building from those around it. Like the Sullivan's other banks, the decoration and ornamentation of Old Home has strong geometric characteristics while also appearing natural and organic; heraldic lions are part of the ornamental program. The two elevations feature tile mosaics, opalescent glass transoms, and banded, leaded-glass casement windows. The building was much abused in the last century, mainly prior to 1973; it needs restoration. ## Related artworks - [Auditorium Building: façade \(detail\)]() - [Auditorium Building: façade]() - [Auditorium Building: general view]() - [Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company Building: entrance]() - [Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company Building]() - [Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company Building]() - [Farmers and Merchants Union Bank]() - [Guaranty Building]() - [Harold C. Bradley House]() - [Home Building Association Bank]() - [Home Building Association Bank]() - [Krause Music Store: façade]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()