Feature 207: 200 North Liberty Street (in 2011)

Classification: Contributing.

Historic Name: Bank of Independence Building.

Architectural Style: Commercial.

Construction Date: ca. 1887.

Period 1 of Harry S Truman's Life: The Period of Pre-Significance, before 1890.

Tax Identification: 26-230-04-11.

Legal Description: Old Town, lot 18, south 36 feet of east 51.25 feet

Description: Contributing two-story masonry commercial building; rectangular in shape; flat roof with parapet and corbelled cornice; brick exterior; segmental arched window openings on second floor with one-over-one double-hung sash windows; large plate glass ground floor display windows; angled corner main entrance with cut stone surround; inscription above door reads "Bank of Independence;” auxiliary doors at extreme ends of both facades facing Liberty Streets and West Maple Avenue. Located on the northwest corner of North Liberty Street and West Maple Avenue across from Courthouse; two-story brick buildings adjoin on west and north walls; sidewalks extend along the south and east walls.

• Alterations: Storefront display windows remodeled several times; including in 1915; windows with semicircular heads on first floor and projecting semicircular arched entrance with pilasters removed before 1950; decorative pointed parapet displaying the building name and construction date, bordered by piers topped with finials, removed before 1950; paired double-hung sash windows above angled corner entrance replaced with single pane of glass; exterior renovated in 1983 (peeling paint was removed with heavy duty paint stripper and high-pressure water, restoration cleaner applied; and tuck pointing of loose and missing mortar).

History/Significance: The Bank of Independence was built during Independence's construction boom between 1886 and 1888, probably not long after the bank's incorporation in December 1886. Walls of the new bank building may have incorporated those of an old warehouse, built around 1848. Incorporators included John A. Sea, William M. Hill, Jacob Gossett, Logan Pendleton, and Horace Sheley. J.D. Wood served as the first bank president, C.C. (known as "Neal") Chiles the vice president, and M.G. Wood the cashier. John Sea practiced law in Independence for sixty years, most of which he did from offices on the second floor of the Bank of Independence. He also served as city attorney for one year and county counselor for five years. In 1932, four years before his death, he served as the first president of the Independence Bar Associations. For many years, he presided over the John A. Sea Abstract Company. Prominently situated on the northwest of the Courthouse Square, the two-story building features a cut corner entrance with a stone surround, inscribed with "Bank of Independence" above the door. The Bank of Independence operated from this building until 1961, when the bank moved to a new building one-half block away. The Bank of Independence building has since had a variety of commercial tenants.

harry s truman national historic site north liberty street bank independence west maple avenue second floor door walls construction date first bank president plate glass ground floor display windows corner national parks gallery missouri warehouses

1886 - 1887

National Parks Gallery

https://npgallery.nps.gov/

Public Domain Dedication