detailed visual survey of louis h. sullivan’s people's savings and loan association bank building (1917) exterior ornament

photogrpahic survey of louis h. sullivan's peoples savings and loan association bank building (1917-18) located in sydney, oh. the terra cotta ornament was modeled by kristian schneider for the american terra cotta company, crystal lake, ills. the mosaics where designed and installed by louis j. millet.

front facade:

west elevation:

further reading:

lafayette m. studevant, secretary of the peoples federal savings and loan association, hired architect louis h. sullivan after he visited the sullivan-designed home building association bank located a hundred miles east in newark, oh.

along with the newark building, peoples federal is one of eight bank commissions sullivan completed in small towns across the modwest towards the end of his career. these buildings are known collectively as the “jewel box” banks, named by architecture critics in the 1910s and 1920s who celebrated their gem-like richness and intimate scale. in these intricate designs, sullivan transformed ordinary building materials like concrete, brick, terra-cotta, steel, glass mosaics, marble, plaster, and wood into “sumptuous, polychromatic jewel-like apparitions.”

architectural decorator louis j. millet translated sullivan’s forms into frescoes and mosaics and clay modeler kristian schneider translated them into molds for plaster, metal, and terra cotta.

the sydney bank has a rectangular, two-story main block and a one-story rear ell. the building is symmetrical and flat-roofed and is clad at the base in a nearly black, verde antique marble with white veining. above the base, walls of pressed “tapestry” brick range in color from red to brown. the ornamented terra cotta banding and high relief figural terra cotta range in hues from pale green to brown to buff. the expansive glass mosaics are dominated by blues, purples, and greens.

the entrance is at the center of the north facade and is defined by a large brick and terra-cotta arch with an inset tympanum featuring excqusite polychromatic tile and glass mosaic and a double-leaf entrance framed by an ornamented architrave and terra cotta jambs with full-figured winged lions flanking the word “thrift” in gold letters in the center of the mosaic. at the level of the parapet, a wide terra-cotta band with a geometric motif wraps the entire building like a flattened cornice. above the entrance, a large, richly modeled corbel-like element drops below the parapet band and form is repeated at two different levels on the west facade, where it serves to emphasize the framing of the stained glass windows. on the north facade, bronze letters appear below the corbel and above the brick arch that read “the peoples federal savings & loan assn” that matches the word “thrift” in the mosaic below. the sign letters were changed when the word “federal” was added to the name of the bank; the word “association” was abbreviated at that time.

the long west elevation features a band of nine, very tall stained glass windows in mottled greens and purple above the first floor. a green glass mosaic with gold letters records the bank name and founding and construction dates; deep, projecting sills, mullions, lintels, corbels, and brackets, executed in ornamented terra cotta, punctuate the entire facade. slightly inset from the main two-story block, the one-story ell utilizes some of the same brick and terra cotta details, including a full figured rearing lion.

any and all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2022.