Ness County Bank Building, Ness City, KS
Ness County Bank Building, corner of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Ness City, Kansas. The Ness County Bank Building is a four-story, 18,700 square foot stone building, which upon its completion in 1890 was called, "The finest and most imposing structure west of Topeka." The architects were Holland & Hopkins or Topeka, Kansas. Ground limestone was added to the mortar to match the rock, giving the building the appearance of a structure carved from a single huge stone. The 30-room building was furnished with an elevator, a rarity of the times - seldom seen outside of New York and Chicago Inside a commissioned oil painting highlights one of four vault doors, while fixtures and doorknobs sport a sunflower motif.
After the building housed the Citizen's State Bank, it was bought for back-taxes by the banker and philanthropist R.B. Christy. The building has had other tenants over the years, including the Ness City post office. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1970s, but was unoccupied through the mid 1980s. The Ness County Bank Building Foundation was formed to save the structure, and the building was stabilized and given a new roof. Federal and local funding also permitted re-glazing of the windows and re-pointing of the stone. The Ness City Chamber of Commerce started occupying space in the building in 1988, and a store selling uniquely Kansas products was opened in 1994. Proceeds from sales provide further remodeling and upkeep.
As a fan of architecture I have to say that this is one of the most spectacular buildings I've encountered.
Ness County Bank Building, Ness City, KS
Ness County Bank Building, corner of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Ness City, Kansas. The Ness County Bank Building is a four-story, 18,700 square foot stone building, which upon its completion in 1890 was called, "The finest and most imposing structure west of Topeka." The architects were Holland & Hopkins or Topeka, Kansas. Ground limestone was added to the mortar to match the rock, giving the building the appearance of a structure carved from a single huge stone. The 30-room building was furnished with an elevator, a rarity of the times - seldom seen outside of New York and Chicago Inside a commissioned oil painting highlights one of four vault doors, while fixtures and doorknobs sport a sunflower motif.
After the building housed the Citizen's State Bank, it was bought for back-taxes by the banker and philanthropist R.B. Christy. The building has had other tenants over the years, including the Ness City post office. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1970s, but was unoccupied through the mid 1980s. The Ness County Bank Building Foundation was formed to save the structure, and the building was stabilized and given a new roof. Federal and local funding also permitted re-glazing of the windows and re-pointing of the stone. The Ness City Chamber of Commerce started occupying space in the building in 1988, and a store selling uniquely Kansas products was opened in 1994. Proceeds from sales provide further remodeling and upkeep.
As a fan of architecture I have to say that this is one of the most spectacular buildings I've encountered.