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BANK OF ITALY BUILDING
Environment: Valley, downtown Visalia, historic building
Activities: Architecture, history, photography. (Note: This is a working business. Please do not disturb business activities.) Open: Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Site Steward: Bank of the Sierra, (559) 740-4200 |
"Preservation is simply having the good sense to hold on to things that are well designed, that link us with our past in a meaningful way, and that have plenty of good use left in them." --Richard Moe 
"Sense of place gives equilibrium; extended, it is sense of direction too." -- Eudora Welty 
"How will we know it's us without our past?" -- John Steinbeck
". . . [H]e founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904 as an institution for the 'little fellows' -- the hardworking immigrants other banks would not serve. He offered those ignored customers savings accounts and loans, judging them not by how much money they already had, but by their characters." -- PBS 
"In the days after the disaster [San Francisco's 1906 earthquake], . . . [w]ith a wooden plank straddling two barrels for a desk, he began to extend credit 'on a face and a signature' to small businesses and individuals in need of money to rebuild their lives. His actions spurred the city's redevelopment." -- Daniel Kadlec 
". . . he expanded the Bank of Italy across California, breaking with an American tradition of independent local banks by providing his egalitarian banking services to the 'little fellows' in the Yugoslavian, Russian, Mexican, Portuguese, Chinese, Greek, and other immigrant communities. By the mid-1920s, he owned the third largest bank in the nation." -- PBS 
Once the basic needs of existence and survival are met, humanity needs more to enhance its experience. There is a need to enrich the everyday experiences of living and working with a sense of history, time and art." -- A Preservation Handbook for HRPandD
"Old places have soul." -- Sarah Anderson 
"We regret much of what we've built; we regret much of what we've torn down. But we've never regretted preserving anything." -- Daniel Sack 
"Historic resources are finite and cannot be replaced, making them precious commodities that many people hold in high regard today." -- A Preservation Handbook for HRP&D Photos for this article by: John Greening; and courtesy of California State Library, foundsf.org, historicfresno.org, JMAW.org, NPR. org, oldtularecopics.blogspot, pinterest.com, theliteratemother.org, thisweekincaliforniahistory.com, timeinc.net, visaliahistory.blogspot, and visalialaw.com |
History:
The Story of the Bank of Italy Building-- A Visalia Landmark Since 1923 by Paul Hurley For most of the 20th century, the tallest building in Visalia was also its leading bank. The Bank of Italy building is now a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. It is still a working bank, although it is no longer the Bank of Italy nor the tallest structure in downtown Visalia. Since its inception as the Bank of Italy in 1923, the stately brick edifice at the northwest corner of Church and Main streets has been home to several other banking institutions, but it has remained true to its origins: customers can still enjoy the charms of the original construction -- its marble floor, neoclassical arches, vaulted ceiling, and decorative appointments. The Bank of Italy building (also known by its successor institution, the Bank of America) has a historical provenance that predates the building itself. The Bank of Visalia, Tulare County’s first incorporated bank, was founded in 1874 and occupied a converted saloon building - the Gem Saloon - at the northwest corner of Church and Main streets. That old building gave way after a couple of years to a new bank that was also the city’s tallest structure and a local landmark. The bank’s clock tower presided over downtown and was visible from miles away. The Bank of Visalia was the county's leading financial institution for decades, and was connected with some the most prominent individuals of early Visalia, whose names persist on the city’s streets and institutions to this day: The founding directors were W. J. Owen, Tipton Lindsey, Cuthburt Burrell, R.E. Hyde and A.H. Broder. Hyde was president and J.W. Crowley was the cashier.
The story of the Bank of Italy, both the bank and the building, begins with a visionary entrepreneur named Amadeo Peter Giannini. The son of immigrant parents, Giannini made his fortune as a produce broker and retired from that career at the age of 31. As a director on the boards of several banks, he made a revolutionary observation: banks at that time served only the rich. He intended to provide banking services for the growing working and middle classes. To that end, he founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904. Thanks to its innovations and booming business resulting from the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the Bank of Italy flourished. By 1921, it had 24 branches throughout California. In that year, the Bank of Italy bought the Bank of Visalia (which had been renamed the National Bank of Visalia in 1908) and the Visalia Savings Bank and Trust Co., and combined them into a new Bank of Italy branch that opened in the old Bank of Visalia building on April 16, 1921. The Visalia Delta welcomed the new business with an editorial noting that the Bank of Italy placed “at the disposal of the community the entire $300,000,000 resources of that wonderful organization.” Later that year, Giannini himself visited Visalia and announced plans for a new building.
Bank of Italy branches constructed in this period were typically designed in a Classic Revival style, with elaborate fixtures and appointments. Seven Bank of Italy buildings built during this period later were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The same spirit was invested in the Visalia branch. Construction required the banking operation to move to temporary quarters. Happily, the S. Sweet furniture business had recently moved from Center Avenue to a new store on Main Street. The Bank of Italy moved to the old furniture store to make way for the demolition. Excavation began in late 1922, and by early 1923, 186 piles had been sunk into the ground to provide the foundation for what would be Visalia’s largest and tallest building, with five stories, a basement and the capacity for expansion. R. F. Felchlin & Co. of Fresno, famous for its classic design of public buildings including the 1918 Bank of Italy in downtown Fresno, provided the architectural, engineering, and contracting services.
The designers and builders sought to make an impressive statement that reflected their vision of stability, classic proportion, and elegance. Today, both the exterior facade facing Main Street and the east facade facing Church still present a vision of a stately public building, including fluted pilasters, tall windows and imposing cornices around the roofline. The ground floor rests on a granite base rising into a sandstone facade “evoking Greek Doric classical order,” as the NRHP registration form attests. Among the decorative touches are sculpted leaves, rosettes and a row of semicircular medallions at the top of the building.    Even more impressive is the interior. Visitors are greeted with a long, vaulted space that runs nearly the length of the building. Six octagonal pillars rise to the ceiling, which is decorated with moldings and panels that include animal motifs and classical designs.
The building included the latest in early 20th century technology, some of which still remains: Two elevator shafts were constructed, although the second elevator was not put in until the 1940s. A brass mailbox and mail chute were installed. The main lobby was illuminated with impressive chandeliers and had 12 windows for customer service, with brass grills, alphabetized to organize those waiting in line by their last names. Construction of the building took six months, with more than 25 contractors and about 100 laborers working on the building every day. The entire project cost $375,000. The new Bank of Italy was dedicated on Sept. 1, 1923, amid great fanfare, with an outpouring of congratulatory letters and testimonials from dignitaries. It officially opened for business on Sept. 24, 1923.
It became the Bank of America in 1930, after Giannini merged the Bank of Italy and the Bank of America in 1928 and then renamed his whole financial enterprise. Many Visalians still refer to the landmark structure as either the Bank of Italy or the Bank of America building, even though B of A sold it in 1972 for $360,000, about what it cost to build, and moved across Church Street in 1976. Visalia Community Bank moved into the historic building in 1979. The current tenant, Bank of the Sierra, moved in in 1995. In 1981, Pat Clevenger and Betsy Bradley of the Visalia Historical Preservation Board began the process of nominating the Bank of Italy building to the National Register of Historic Places. It received the designation on April 1, 1982. Visitors to the Bank of Italy building today can see most of the same features that impressed customers in 1923. The handsome exterior is virtually unchanged. Inside, the chandeliers and the brass-grilled wickets are gone, replaced with modern lighting and features. But remaining are the tall windows, the marble floor and columns, and the mail chute, among many other elegant touches. On the outside of the building is a brass plaque noting the building’s historic status. It contains the name of only one person: Amadeo Giannini. February, 2017 
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Directions: Address: 128 E. Main St, Visalia, CA 93291 Phone: (559) 740-4200 
Main Street, Visalia, Looking East. Bank of Italy building Behind Fox Theater Clock Tower
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