Fullerton State Bank (Former)

Address: 1425 W. Fullerton Ave. Year Built: 1923 Architect: Vitzthum, Karl, and Co. Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: July 9, 2008

The former Fullerton State Bank was built during a "golden age" of bank architecture in Chicago in the prosperous 1920s. Recalling the temples of Classical antiquity, the design features two-story tall arched window openings and giant-order Corinthian columns. The building is clad in light-gray terra cotta which is molded with ornamental motifs such as urns, garlands, cartouches and griffins. The original bronze entrance doors are surrounded within a richly-ornamented terracotta portico topped with a scrolled pediment framing a clock face. The building's architect, Karl M. Vitzthum, designed more than fifty bank buildings throughout the Midwest, as well as several commercial buildings in Chicago's Loop, including the One North LaSalle Building (1930) and the Steuben Club Building (1929), both designated Chicago Landmarks.