The last bank Louis Sullivan ever built: a small brick strongbox carved, in terracotta, like a casket.
At a glance
The Farmers and Merchants Union Bank in Columbus, Wisconsin, begun in 1919 and opened in 1920, was the last bank Louis Sullivan designed. Like his other “jewel boxes”, it is a small brick block transformed by terracotta ornament: a deep arched entrance, a great round window, and bands of his unmistakable foliate detail. It still serves as a bank.
Key facts
- Location: James Street and Dickason Boulevard, Columbus, Wisconsin
- Architect: Louis Sullivan
- Built: 1919–1920
- Note: the last bank Sullivan designed
- Style: Sullivanesque (American Art Nouveau ornament)
History
By 1919 Sullivan’s career was almost over and commissions were scarce; the small banks of the Midwest were his last steady work. Columbus gave him his final one, built for a local farmers’ and merchants’ bank.
He died a few years later, in poverty, his reputation revived only afterwards. The Columbus bank, carefully kept, is a fitting last note: small, useful and beautiful.
What you see
The front is a brick block opened by a recessed arched entrance and a large bull’s-eye window, the brick framed and crowned by terracotta ornament in greens and golds. Eagles and foliage mark the corners. It is the work of a master at the end, with nothing left to prove and everything to give.
Practical information
- Open: a working bank; interior in business hours
- Cost: free to view
- Best for: the terracotta ornament and round window
- Time needed: 10–15 minutes
Getting there
The bank stands in downtown Columbus, a small city north-east of Madison, Wisconsin, just off Interstate 39.
Nearby
- Downtown Columbus — the historic main street around the bank
- Madison — the state capital, about forty minutes south-west
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica / Wikipedia — Farmers and Merchants Union Bank
- National Park Service — National Historic Landmark record
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licence
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