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Retail stores now occupy the
former bank
Photograph by Terry Skibby |
In 1910, Citizen's Bank retained architect W. F. Bowen to design
a bank building--two stories of buff-colored brick with granite
detailing--and make it visually compatible with the building to
the east, which was then under construction for Clyde Payne, a local
real estate agent. Upon completion, the bank occupied the prominent
corner storefront while the Payne section--more modestly constructed
of the brick without any granite trim--housed a grocery and barbershop.
The combined second floor, accessed via a shared entry, provided
space for a number of Ashland professionals. The Citizen's Banking
and Trust Company Building clearly reflects a period of civic pride,
economic growth, and prosperity unequalled in Ashland's history.
The building's location firmly anchors Ashland's modern business
district as the outstanding and most intact building constructed
during the city's boom years from 1909 to 1913. The new bank met
with immediate success and grew rapidly. After only a year of operation,
its resources increased more than 200 percent, rising from $115,596
in December of 1910 to $217,879 in November of 1911. This rapid
growth was attributed to the community orientation of the bank's
loan policies. The bank had a policy of turning deposits back into
the local economy.
Citizen's Banking and Trust Co.
Building, c.1911
Courtesy of The Terry Skibby Collection |
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Like many other successful financial institutions, the bank failed
during the Depression; the building later housed retail and office
space at the ground level, while the second floor was converted
to office and apartment use. It remains a center of shopping in
the bustling downtown historic district. Although the bank liquidated
its assets during the Great Depression, none of the depositors lost
any of their money.
The Citizen's Banking & Trust Co. Building is located at
232-242 E. Main St. The stores and eating establishments that now
occupy the building are open to the public during normal business
hours.
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