National Register of Historic Places

German Bank

Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa
Listed
March 27, 1978
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
78001216

About this property

German Bank is a historic building located in the Lower Main Street district of Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The city's German community was its most prominent ethnic group in the mid to late 19th century. Like many other Iowa cities of that era, Dubuque had banks that were owned by, and catered to, members of their particular immigrant communities. T.H. Thedinga, the city's first German-born mayor, started this bank in 1864 to serve immigrant Germans. In 1868 it moved from its original location on Main Street and into the former Dubuque Miners' Bank building. That building was torn down in 1901 in order to construct this one. It was designed by Dubuque architect John Spencer in partnership with Chicago architect W.G. Williamson. The three-story brick building has a highly decorative main facade composed of polished pink granite on the main floor and terra cotta on the upper two floors. Decorative elements include egg-and-dart, Greek fret, a row of small lions' heads, bay windows, scroll pediments, imperial German eagles, and a bracketed cornice with dentils. The second and third floors are dominated by four fluted, banded columns with Corinthian capitals. The bank remained in operation here until 1932 when it closed in the Great Depression. Since 1946 the first floor has housed a restaurant and bar. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. and it was included as a contributing property in the Old Main Street Historic District in 1983.

Location

342 Main St.
Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa
42.49720, -90.66496

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Old Main Historic District
Listed
0 mi
Orpheum Theatre and Site
Colonial
0 mi
Cathedral Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed
0.1 mi
Redstone
Industrial
0.1 mi
Thedinga, J. H., House
Industrial
0.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Attack on Sinsinawa Mound
1832Early Republic
8.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was German Bank listed on the National Register?

German Bank was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 27, 1978.

What type of historic resource is German Bank?

German Bank is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for German Bank?

The period of significance for German Bank is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near German Bank?

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