| Frank L. Smith Bank | |
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| Building information | |
|---|---|
| Town | Dwight, Livingston County, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Client | Frank L. Dwight is a village in located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois. Livingston County is a County located in the US state of Illinois. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8 1867 &ndash April 9 1959 was an American (of Welsh descent Architect, Interior designer, Writer, and educator who Smith |
| Completion date | 1905 |
The Frank L. Smith Bank, also known as the First National Bank of Dwight, is a bank building in Dwight, Illinois, United States that was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Dwight is a village in located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8 1867 &ndash April 9 1959 was an American (of Welsh descent Architect, Interior designer, Writer, and educator who Wright's earliest designs for the building date to 1904, but it was constructed in 1905 and opened in 1906. The design of the bank building deliberately rejects the classical influences common at the time, and is meant to evoke an air of simple dignity. The term Classical architecture has a specific Archaeological meaning relating to the architecture of Classical Greece
Contents |
History
Frank Lloyd Wright's early designs for the Smith Bank date to 1904. Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8 1867 &ndash April 9 1959 was an American (of Welsh descent Architect, Interior designer, Writer, and educator who The building, located in downtown Dwight, Illinois, was constructed in 1905 to a Wright design. Dwight is a village in located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois. [1] Wright designed the bank building to house the real estate office and bank of Frank L. Smith, a prominent local citizen and baseball player who once faced Ty Cobb. A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom Frank L Smith ( November 24, 1867 - August 20, 1950) was an Illinois politician Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18 1886 – July 17 1961 nicknamed " The Georgia Peach," was a baseball player and is regarded by historians [2] Smith had decided that his real estate clients needed a simple and convenient way to obtain financing, so he founded the bank and hired Wright as the architect. [2] The bank opened for business in 1906. [3]
Wright was closely involved during design and construction, even down to the smallest details. Letters, exchanged between Wright and Smith, show that Wright was directly involved with the design of the interior and furnishings. The letters show that Wright's final decision was implemented in most cases, though some of his changes caused delays. [4]
Renovations
The building has undergone at least two renovations. During the 1950s the building was modernized: the biggest change was the lowering of the original skylight to allow installation of air conditioning, but the work also involved covering much of the interior limestone and removing the oak trim. The term air conditioning refers to the cooling and dehumidification of indoor air for Thermal comfort. During the 1960s the First National Bank of Dwight, the present owners, remodeled the building once again. This remodeling removed Wright's originally designed partition which divided the building into bank and real estate offices. The later renovation also recreated the original skylight, uncovered the interior stone, and utilized the original plans to reincorporate the oak trim. Daylighting is the practice of placing Windows or other transparent media and reflective surfaces so that during the day natural light provides effective internal illumination The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin [3]
Architecture
Wright's earliest 1904 plans for the Dwight bank showed a vertical brick block with a column flanking each side of the recessed central doorway. A brick is a block of Ceramic material used in Masonry construction laid using mortar. A column in Structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural The early drawings also show a large ornamental frieze on the upper portion of the building's facade. In Architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an Entablature and may be plain or &ndash in the Ionic or Corinthian order &ndash A facade or façade (fəˈsɑːd is generally one side of the exterior of a Building, especially the front but also sometimes the sides and rear It is unknown why Wright abandoned these plans and opted for the design that was used. [1]
The building, as designed and constructed by Wright, has a 60 foot, storefront facade. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The design specifically rejects typical bank building designs and their classical influences. The cut stone facade gives an air of simple dignity and solidity. The bank's design and location parallels Wright's belief that a bank should convey its own, unique character rather than "put on the airs of a temple of worship. "[1] Margaret Randall, in her 1996 work The Price You Pay: The Hidden Cost of Women's Relationship to Money, stated Wright's Smith Bank, along with his City National Bank in Mason City, Iowa, was "designed to evoke our culture's worship of money. "[5]
The building's most distinctive architectural feature is the fireplace, uncommon in office buildings, and the structure's only feature to incorporate Roman brick. A fireplace is an architectural element consisting of a space designed to contain a Fire, generally for Heating but sometimes also for Cooking Roman brick is a type of Brick with nominal dimensions of 12" x 4" x 2" (30 cm x 10 cm x 5 cm making it longer and narrower (621 ratio than most [2][3] The present-day structure consists of one open, interior space, while Wright's original design divided the building into two sections. One section was used as Smith's real estate office, the other as the bank. [2] Wright also designed a full set of furniture for both offices, although much of it has been sold over the years. Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal [2] One of the pieces of Wright-designed furniture in the building was a round-backed chair. A chair is a kind of Furniture for Sitting, consisting of a back and sometimes arm rests commonly for use by one person The chair was at least the second attempt at a round-backed chair by Wright; an earlier, more successful attempt was completed in the Darwin D. Martin House. The Darwin D Martin House Complex, built between 1903 and 1905 and located at 125 Jewett Parkway in Buffalo New York, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The chair has a bent-wood back, and rounded seat and stretchers. The total integration of the design is less successful than that used in the Martin House. [6] Other interior features include a now electrically lit skylight, oak trim, and exposed stonework. [3]
Notes
- ^ a b c Sanderson, Arlene and Quinan, Jack. Wright Sites: A Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright Public Places, (Google Books), Princeton Architectural Press: 2001, (ISBN 1568982755), p. 44. Retrieved 29 September 2007. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
- ^ a b c d e Heinz, The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright, p. 293.
- ^ a b c d "First National Bank of Dwight: Frank Lloyd Wright Architect," (Brochure), First National Bank of Dwight. A brochure or Pamphlet is a leaflet Advertisement. Brochures may advertise locations events hotels products services etc
- ^ Hanks, David A. The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright (Google Books), Courier Dover Publications: 1999, p. 23, (ISBN 0486407306). Retrieved 29 September 2007. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
- ^ Randall, Margaret. The Price You Pay: The Hidden Cost of Women's Relationship to Money, (Google Books), Routledge: 1996, p. 206, (ISBN 0415912040). Retrieved 29 September 2007. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
- ^ Heinz, The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright, p. 394.
References
- Heinz, Thomas A. The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright, Chartwell Books, Inc. , Edison, New Jersey: 2006, (ISBN 0785821457).
External links
- Build you own Frank L. Smith Bank, from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
- First National Bank of Dwight, official site
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