{"nrhp_refnum":"00000291","name":"City National Bank Building","other_names":["Southern National Bank Building","Texas American Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1001 McKinney Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Houston","county":"Harris County","state":"TX","lat":29.758829750000075,"lon":-95.36452760299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Economics"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 24-story Art Moderne office and bank building at 1001 McKinney Avenue in the central business district of Houston, Harris County, Texas, designed in 1939 by architect Alfred Finn and completed in 1947 for City National Bank.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building reflects the post-war economic growth of Houston and the role of City National Bank in it (Criterion A). It is also the resource most strongly associated with banker Judge James A. Elkins (Criterion B). It represents Alfred Finn's later skyscraper design and is a notable presence on the post-war skyline (Criterion C).","narrative":"Rising 24 stories at the corner of Main Street and McKinney Avenue in downtown Houston, this steel-frame building was designed by Alfred Finn in 1939 and finished in 1947, after wartime delays. It housed City National Bank on its lower floors, along with a jewelry store, and offices above. A three-story granite base supports tan brick piers, steel casement windows and maroon terra cotta chevrons, with setbacks leading to a stepped tower. Inside, a three-story banking hall features red marble piers, fluted plaster surfaces and geometric ornament. The building is nominated for its link to Houston's post-war economy and to James A. Elkins, the bank's president and a powerful local figure, and as an example of Finn's later skyscraper work. The bank occupied it until its 1956 merger. Alterations have been limited, and original windows and key interior spaces survive. The building also connects to downtown's underground tunnel system.","period_of_significance":"1946-1956","architect_builder":"Finn, Alfred C. (architect); Cummins, Robert James (engineer); W.S. Bellows (builder)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Moderne","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as commerce/trade: business. The form says the building retains a high degree of integrity, with the banking hall, passageways and elevator lobby restored to Finn's original design.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.880247-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/9724/40972408/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/00000291.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000291/d48e426087-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000291/d48e426087-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Farragutful","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_National_Bank_Building,_Houston.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Farragutful</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_National_Bank_Building,_Houston.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972408","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_National_Bank_Building_(Houston)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19866604"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/harris-county/city-national-bank-building-00000291/"}