Familiar Hall, Historical bank building in Kobe, Japan.
Familiar Hall was the former Mitsubishi Bank Kobe Branch, a three-storey stone Renaissance-style building completed in 1900 to a design by Tatsuzo Sone. Its ashlar masonry facade, arched entrance and glazed high ceiling survived the loss of the triangular pediment in wartime bombing. The building was demolished in March 2016 and replaced by The Parkhouse Kobe Tower.
Completed in 1900 to designs by Tatsuzo Sone, the building housed the banking division of Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha before passing to Mitsubishi Bank. Renamed Kobe West Branch in 1945, it closed on 20 May 1973 when operations merged into the Sannomiya Branch. The apparel maker Familiar acquired it in 1977 and used the ground floor as a 250-seat hall from July 1996; it was demolished in March 2016.
The building was completed in 1900 as the Kobe branch of Mitsubishi Bank, designed by Tatsuzo Sone in Renaissance style. From 1977 it belonged to the children's clothing maker Familiar, and from July 1996 its ground floor served as a 250-seat multipurpose hall. A stone statue of Snoopy stood in front of the company's former head office nearby from around 1980 until it was moved in May 2016.
The building no longer stands: it was demolished in March 2016 and the Park House Kobe Tower condominium was built on the site. The nearest stations are Nishimotomachi on the Hanshin Kobe Kosoku line, about 3 minutes on foot, and JR Kobe Station, about 6 minutes. Kobe Harborland and Meriken Park lie nearby.
The triangular pediment that once crowned the top of the building was lost in the war, so the roofline seen today is incomplete. From around 1980 a stone statue of Snoopy from Peanuts stood in front of the neighbouring Familiar head office; it was moved to the company's new headquarters in May 2016 when the site was sold.
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