Chicago City Bank and Trust Company (Former)

Address: 815 W. 63rd Street Year Built: 1929 - 1930 Architect: A. Epstein Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: October 8, 2008

When it opened in 1930, this Art Deco-style bank building projected a stylish image on what was one of the busiest commercial districts in Chicago. The style was based on French design exhibited at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and further developed by American architects in the 1920s and 30s as a "modernistic" style. Characteristics of the Art Deco style include the building¿s sleek limestone façade, geometric ornament, and stepped-back parapet. The grand banking hall features a 28-foot-tall ceiling, rich marble finishes and decorative bronze metalwork. It was designed by Abraham Epstein, an accomplished Chicago architect and engineer who also designed the Stock Yards National Bank (a designated Chicago Landmark) five years earlier. The building is situated at W. 63rd and Halsted Streets, the commercial heart of the Englewood neighborhood which, during the 1920s, boasted the second busiest retail area in Chicago.