Bowery Savings Bank Building, Classical bank building in Little Italy, Manhattan, US
The Bowery Savings Bank Building is a neoclassical bank structure with an L-shaped layout clad in limestone, featuring Corinthian columns and elaborate sculptural details by Frederick MacMonnies. The facade displays carefully crafted ornamentation that clearly identifies the building's original purpose as a financial institution.
Stanford White designed this building in 1894 as the headquarters of Bowery Savings Bank, establishing a model for bank architecture across America. The project demonstrated how classical temple design inspired public buildings intended to convey stability and prosperity.
The building now houses Capitale, an event venue that hosts concerts, weddings, and celebrations using the grand banking spaces. The original purpose as a financial institution lives on through the architecture, even as the interior now serves entirely different functions.
The building sits at the corner of Bowery and Grand Street with separate entrances from both streets. Visitors can admire the structure from outside and should know that it functions today as an event venue.
Inside the building, a double-height banking hall features a coffered ceiling and a large square skylight that illuminates marble colonnades below. These spaces recall Roman temple design and show how banks used architecture to emphasize their importance.
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