Ask Chicagoist: Banking On Architecture

By Rachelle Bowden in Miscellaneous on Feb 9, 2006 3:24PM

I was sitting at the Ashland bus stop (at Division/Milwaukee) and an old woman told me that the MB Bank there used to be a YMCA back in the day. I thought this was a cool piece of trivia and told it to a friend of mine when we were walking past the building. He laughed and said it was obvious from the reliefs/carving/statues (what are those things called?) on the buildings that it had always been some sort of bank. Can you help me solve the mystery? It bothers me every time I walk past, which is ALL THE TIME.

Your architecture buff friend is right. In this case, it turns out that the place to go when you're short on your dough isn't the YMCA, but the Home Bank and Trust Company Building. Not-all-that-famous Chicago architect Karl M. Vitzhum of Vitzhum and Burns designed the 1200-08 N. Ashland building in 1926, which now is home to the MB Financial Bank.

Vitzhum, along with his partner John J. Burns, while having a penchant for banks (notably the Hyde Park Bank), are slightly more well-known for their high rise office buildings: the One North LaSalle office building, the Steuban Club Building (Randolph Tower to us) at 188 W. Randolph, and the Bell Building (we may know it as the Old Republic Building) at 307 N. Michigan.

The MB Financial Bank building has the sort of grand and formal atmosphere that, according to an article in Chicago Journal, exemplifies bank buildings from the early 20th century, back when going to the bank was more of a ritual than it is today (not that Chicagoist's drunken stumbles into the 24-hour ATM area at 2am aren't dignified). The building has a definite flair, with "sweeping marble floors," brass details, high ceilings, archways, and sculptural carvings. The carvings on the facade, by the way, are ornamental details that are indicative of Classical architecture. Adding to the theme, the building once had "arched-panel windows lining the building," but they were filled with concrete in the 1950s.

Recently, the building has been the subject of meetings at the Department of Planning and Development's Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Turns out that the commission, backed by Alderman Manny Flores of the 1st Ward, wants to call the building an official Chicago landmark, just in case the building's owners start dreaming of condo development. Happily, the first hurdle has been cleared, and at the December 2005 Landmarks meeting, the MB Financial Bank building was recommended for a preliminary landmark designation. This means a full Council vote will happen at sometime in the future.

Been duped by false trivia? Need some advice? Email ask(at)chicagoist(dot)com

Thanks, Thales!