{"nrhp_refnum":"04001135","name":"Bank of Italy, Merced","other_names":["Mondo Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"501 W. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Merced","county":"Merced County","state":"CA","lat":37.30173757800003,"lon":-120.48367631499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-10-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story commercial and banking building with basement at the northwest corner of Canal Street and West Main Street in downtown Merced, California, built in 1928 and designed by architect H.A. Minton, with K.E. Parker Co. as builder.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a significant example of Classical Revival commercial and banking architecture of the 1920s, with exceptional artistic value in its cast stone columns, Corinthian capitals, cornice and decorative band. It also notes the building was among the first substantial commercial and financial buildings in Merced and is a downtown landmark. Its architect, Henry Anthony Minton, designed many buildings for the Bank of Italy.","narrative":"Standing at the corner of Canal and West Main Streets in downtown Merced, this three-story Classical Revival building opened on April 20, 1928, as the Bank of Italy. Architect H.A. Minton designed it and K.E. Parker Co. built it at a cost of $250,000. Poured-in-place reinforced concrete forms the structure, clad in cast stone made of recast crushed travertine marble, with a granite base and a red clay tile mansard roof. Fluted engaged columns, Corinthian capitals, a decorated cornice and a band showing Indian heads and eagles give the facades their character. The building housed several pioneer Merced banks, and upper-floor offices served doctors, dentists and lawyers. Alterations in the 1950s covered and damaged parts of the ground floor on Main Street. A rehabilitation begun in 2003 removed the stucco and restored the lost features. Merced designated the building a local landmark in 2002. It is considered an important surviving example of the city's 1920s business architecture.","period_of_significance":"1928","architect_builder":"Minton, Henry Anthony, architect; Parker, Kingsbury E., builder","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Being completely rehabilitated as a tax credit project (work began fall 2003, scheduled for completion summer 2004) for new occupants including the University of California at Merced and County Bank.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.806265-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/04001135.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001135/4eeedb8bab-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001135/4eeedb8bab-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Scott Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bank_of_Italy_Merced_facade_remade.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Scott Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bank_of_Italy_Merced_facade_remade.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859833","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Italy,_Merced","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14681573"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/merced-county/bank-of-italy-merced-04001135/"}