Wisconsin jewel box bank
August 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM by Dr. Drang
You may recall my post from earlier this summer about the Louis Sullivan jewel box banks and how ChatGPT gave me the wrong information about the best way to tour all of them. Today I started a trip that should hit five of the eight banks. Oh, I’m also doing some other stuff, like visiting my kids.
The first bank on the trip is the one that ChatGPT left off its list entirely, the Farmers and Merchants Union Bank in Columbus, Wisconsin. The bank has had some sections added to it since the original construction in 1919; only the front and one side façade are still visible in full.
The semicircular stained glass windows are one of the building’s standout features, and they are especially beautiful from the inside. Here’s the front window,
the rear window (which you can’t see from the exterior because of the additions),
and the set of five side windows,
The rear window can be viewed up close because there’s a mezzanine next to it. Here’s a detailed view:
The bank has a little historical display on the mezzanine, and one of the tellers led me up to it so I could spend some time looking through its artifacts. There are examples of brick and terracotta from both the original 1919 construction and a major renovation in 1960.
The best thing on mezzanine, though, is a set of Sullivan’s blueprints for the bank. Here you can see the front and side elevations:
You can also see the source of my frustration in trying to photograph the blueprints—too much reflection off the glass that covers them. They’re easier to see in person. I did manage to get a halfway decent shot of Sullivan’s title block.
Here’s a nice view of several terracotta blocks in situ,
and an imposing eagle at the top of the rear façade,
The eagle is just visible over the top of the side wall.
I mentioned additions to the bank. The one in 1960 restored some of the damaged terracotta, which was nice. Not quite so nice was the extension off the back of the bank:
I guess you could be charitable and say the 1960 architect wanted to make sure you didn’t confuse his work with Sullivan’s.
Finally, here’s the plaque on the front façade commemorating the building’s designation as a national historic landmark:
Although this is the first jewel box bank on my tour, it’s the last one Sullivan designed. He went out with a bang.