Sepia Saturday 292, 2015 August 15: Historic Banks in Klamath Falls, Oregon

Hmmnn,   Money, Banks, Guards, Notes.  That's the theme for today but I don't actually have any photos of any of those things in my archives.   However I do have memories of three historic banks in Klamath Falls, Oregon, the town of my childhood.






The Oregon Bank Building as it is in the 21st Century.  In the Klamath Falls when  I was growing  up, it was commonly known as the Medical-Dental Building because it housed many office of physicians and dentist.  The building is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, DSC0938-Klamath Falls, and the ground breaking was in 1929.  The doors of the bank opened on March, 3, 1930.  Unfortunately the banking institution closed sometime some time in 1932, according to the  Klamath Echoes, 1967, #5.  The site, 9th and Main Street, was where the First National Bank was located in the 1920s.  According to my mother and her childhood memories,  the old Golden Rule store wrapped around bank (early  First National)  like an L.  The Golden Rule Store became J.C.Penney Store, but my mother as an eighty-year-old woman  remembered going into the Golden Rule Store with all the wonderment of a child.

I was never in the Oregon Bank and Trust when it was a bank, as it ceased to exist before I was born.  However, I have been in the building many times during its many permutations since then, and the it's greatest allure was its elevator.  Klamath Falls did not have many elevators, much less an elevator with a uniformed operator that closed the gated door, pushed the buttons and to a child looked so very impressive. Also, for many years the ground floor housed one of my favorite dress shops.  No memories of a bank, but plenty of memories of the building.

Here are some photographs of the early days of the Oregon Bank Building in  Klamath Falls, Oregon .

Ground Breaking for the Oregon Bank and Trust Co.,
on the site of the old Central High School

Oregon Bank and Trust Building Almost Finished

Oregon Bank and Trust Building at 8th and Main Street,
early downtown view
Courtesy of the Klamath Country Museum

The next bank of this post is Klamath Falls' First National Bank.  The First National Bank was originally established in Klamath Falls in the early 1900s.  By the 1911, it had merged with the Klamath County Bank, and at one point in the 1920s was located on the site of what would become the Oregon Bank and Trust.  However the First National Bank that I remember was, and is, located at 6th and Main Street.  The First National Bank opened its doors at its new location on November 16, 1930, a scant 8 months after the opening of its rival the Oregon Bank and Trust.  I have always thought this was a lovely building, and as a child I was sure it was made of white marble.   Actually the surface of the building is of a gleaming white cast terra cotta that was in great contrast to the black granite base.  The first photograph was shortly after the open of the new bank building.

First National Bank Building, Klamath Falls, Oregon
circa 1930
Courtesy of  Oreon Historical County Records Guide

 This bank had a revolving door which certainly was an intriguing element for a youngster.  As child, I would go round and round in the glass quadrants, that is, until my mother would give me that LOOK.  I always loved the sculptured designs on this building,  that were supposed to reflect the area's heyday of the lumber industry.  Although, I was never sure just what the sculpture over the door was supposed to represent.  Some said it was a mythological Mayan god, but I certainly knew nothing of that sort of thing.  I just knew it was impressive.  I think this bank building is still a very impressive looking building.

First National Bank Building, Klamath Falls, Oregon
circa 2010
Courtesy of  Oreon Historical County Records Guide

The last of the banks that I remember as a child growing up in Klamath Falls is the U.S. National Bank Building located on the corner of 8th and Main Street.  As one of the old Klamath Falls banks go, this building is a comparative newcomer, built in 1937.  The building is listed as one of the historic buildings of Klamath Falls.    This is the bank that I most remember, which probably means that as a family we did most of our banking at this bank.  I know as a child I was quite proud of my passbook for my (small) savings account at this bank.  It is now located next door to one of my favorite places in Klamath Falls,  McPherson's Old Town Pizza.

Klamath Branch, U. S. National Bank, KIamath Falls, Oregon
Wikepedia, List of Historic Buildings in Klamath Falls, Oregon

I am closing, not with a photo of a bank, but of the Williams Building, built in 1907, in the Italianate design.  I have many fond memories of this building.  When I was growing up it was the site of the Pelican Cafe, which in my childhood memory bank,  was the epitome of elegance.   And the good memories were even greater when it became Klamath Falls home of McPherson's Old Town Pizza  -- the place of many, many wonderful family gatherings.  Did I mention that McPherson is my line.

McPherson's Old Town Pizza, Williams Building,
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Wikepedia, List of Historic Buildings in Klamath Falls, Oregon

This ends the tour of some of my favorite Klamath Falls buildings, banks or not.  Now grab a satchel and slip on over to see what other kind of loot you can gather Sepia Saturday.

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 © Joan G. Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications