National Bank of Whittier Building, Beaux-Arts bank building in Whittier, United States.
The National Bank of Whittier Building is a Beaux-Arts Neoclassical commercial building in uptown Whittier, California, built in 1923 by John and David Parkinson. It is described as the best remaining example of the Beaux-Arts style in the city. Its ground floor now houses Poet Gardens, a food hall of over 15,000 square feet with seven food stalls anchored by the Whittier Brewing Company.
John and David Parkinson built the National Bank of Whittier Building in 1923 in the Beaux Arts Neoclassical style. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is described as the best remaining example of that style in the city. The bank in the building was run by the Perry family; Herman Perry sat on the Committee of 100 that funded Richard Nixon's first congressional campaign.
The building is named Nixon Plaza after Richard Nixon, who kept his first law office here while serving as Whittier's deputy city attorney in 1938. The bank was run by the Perry family: Herman Perry sat on the Committee of 100 that funded Nixon's first congressional campaign, and his son Hubert was a classmate of Nixon at Whittier High School.
The building stands at the corner of Greenleaf Avenue and Philadelphia Street in Uptown Whittier. Poet Gardens, the food hall on the ground floor, opened in fall 2019 and holds seven food stalls plus the Whittier Brewing Company across more than 15,000 square feet. A replica of Nixon's office is on view at the Whittier Historical Museum, not in this building.
The ground-floor food hall, Poet Gardens, opened in fall 2019 as the first in Whittier. It covers over 15,000 square feet, is anchored by the Whittier Brewing Company and holds seven food stalls; local restaurateur and chef Ricardo Diaz conceived it. The building itself now bears the name Nixon Plaza after its most famous tenant.
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