Pine Bluff's historic bank gets facelift

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Built in 1923, Paragould’s historic National Bank of Commerce sits quietly on the southwest corner at the intersection of Pruett and Emerson streets downtown. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, this classical revival building is undergoing a face lift as it is converted into law offices and loft apartments by Paragould attorney H.T. Moore.

The block-stone exterior of the more than 80-years-old two-story structure has been scrubbed clean of years of grime from weathering and the blackening of the entablature from coal soot that issued from the vents of the coal-fired heating apparatus that once warmed the offices.

Crumbling window frames have been replaced with superior, energy-efficient facsimiles. The windows are period-appropriate, Moore said. Because they were of non-standard sizes, they were custom manufactured at great expense.

“All the marble’s going to be restored,” he said during a guided tour of renovations in September.

Moore said replacing damaged marble on the ground floor with matching pieces was a challenge. Some was salvaged from the gutted bank vault and more from another renovated building of the same period just down the street. The replacements will not be readily distinguishable from the original.

Those who know about the bank’s past said it was unique in its inclusion of a walk-up banking window on Emerson Street at a time when such conveniences were uncommon.

In the main area on the ground floor a painter, aided by a mechanized arm, crouches overhead, daubing with persnickety precision as he applies paint to one of four decorative ceiling medallions.

The study of architecture is the study of history, art and engineering. Perched above the doorway from Pruett Street is a high ledge rimed by a rail. The ledge has a commanding view of the vault and the main area where the tellers would have served the bank’s customers but there is no access to the ledge and it has no discernible purpose. Appearances are deceiving.

“That was the original guard rail,” Moore said. “They had an old ladder, like a library ladder (for access); in those days when they thought they were going to have a lot of business — especially Saturday’s (at) harvest — a guard would stand up there with a shot gun.”

Underfoot, the design is no less impressive. Beneath a layer of cheap carpeting and adhesive, Moore discovered the bank was originally floored in Terrazzo, a faux-marble flooring comprised of marble chips embedded in a sandy concrete mix, polished to a high sheen and sealed. Terrazzo was developed by Venetian craftsmen as a low-cost alternative to marble floors. The marble chips were leftovers from the construction of more upscale floors. And although marble chips are the classical aggregate of a Terrazzo floor, other materials such as glass and metal chips have also been used.

As Terrazzo becomes dirty or scratched by use it loses its luster. The veneer of its surface can be ground away, and the surface can be polished and resealed, revealing its beauty once more.

Three generations of Bill Block’s family have ties to the National Bank of Commerce. Block’s grandfather, J.D. Block, had his law offices in the eastern corner of the second floor and he was president of the bank for a time. Block’s father, M.F. Block, was a member of the board of directors, and Block was too in his time.

Block recounted a story that took place during the height of the Great Depression as told to him by his father. For anyone who has ever seen James Stewart running down the main street of Bedford Falls shouting, “Merry Christmas,” it’s like a scene right out of Frank Capra’s 1947 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

“During the depression that was one of the few banks in this area that did not close,” Block said. (J.C. Vaughn Jr., who also has ties to the bank said it was the only bank in Paragould that stayed open through the depression.) “My grandfather was president of the bank and he sent my father and the sheriff over to Memphis to the Federal Reserve Bank because they were about to have a run on the National Bank of Commerce. People were lined up on the outside on Emerson Street trying to get in to the bank to get their money checked out because they thought the bank would fail like many of the others did.

“My father and the sheriff unloaded boxes of cash and made a great show ... and the president came out and said ’You all just give a few minutes to get this money in there, your money’s safe, here it is right here and we’ll pay everyone at once.’ That stopped the run on the bank.”

Another story Block recalled involved a swindler who came into the bank posing as a cattleman and took out a loan on another farmer’s herd. He even carried the ruse so far as to invite banking staff out to the ranch so that they could lay eyes on the quality of the cattle.

From 1957-81, Block served on the board.

“That was quite an honor to be on the board back then,” he said as he thought back to the circumstances of his first meeting. “The building across the street was brick — the outside of the building was painted white. I got to my first meeting with the board of directors on the second floor of the building very early because I certainly didn’t want to be late for my first meeting. I sat down in the chair and after a while Mr. Lipscomb came in and stood behind me. So I thought ’I’m in his chair,’ and I got up and moved to the other one and it wasn’t long before Mr. Kirsch came in and stood behind me and I realized it was his chair. So I asked Mr. Wrape where the new board members sit and he motioned to the other side of the table. When I sat over there and looked out the window and the sun was shining on that white wall and I realized why the new members sat on the other side. It was blinding.”

Renovations are expected to be complete early next year.

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Comments on Pine Bluff's historic bank gets facelift

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dryan_99_yahoo_com says...

Shouldn't this say the historic bank is in Paragould, I live in Pine Bluff, and we have no corner of Pruett and Emerson street,lol.

November 7, 2009 at 6:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

RBBrittain says...

I grew up in Jefferson County; those street names do NOT fit in downtown Pine Bluff (most east-west streets are numbered & called "avenues", most north-south streets are named for trees or states). The headline writer must have remembered the old National Bank of Commerce in Pine Bluff (now Bank of America), but its main building downtown was built in the 1950's and doesn't meet the description here.

November 7, 2009 at 11:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

GHOSTWRITER says...

Jesus, is your headline writer drunk? It's Paragould not Pine Bluff. Does someone get paid to make mistakes like this.

November 8, 2009 at 12:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

dryan_99_yahoo_com says...

Ok glad to know that I am not the only one that is noticing that this person put the wrong city on the wrong story, lol, goes to show the press isn't as good as they think they are. They should hire me to do this instead of this person, I would actually get my stories correct.

November 9, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

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