{"nrhp_refnum":"75001990","name":"Old Houston National Bank","other_names":["Franklin Bank"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"202 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Houston","county":"Harris County","state":"TX","lat":29.763051543000074,"lon":-95.36049097799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-07-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Neo-Classical bank building at 202 Main Street in downtown Houston, Harris County, Texas, built in 1928 to designs by Hedrick & Gottlieb, Inc. for the Houston National Bank.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an excellent example of Neo-Classical style and perhaps the most impressive bank building in Houston when built. It represents the wealth of Houston banking interests before the Stock Market Crash. The exterior is virtually intact and the lavish interior only slightly altered.","narrative":"Dominating the corner of Main and Franklin Streets in old downtown Houston, this 1928 bank building was designed by Hedrick and Gottlieb for the Houston National Bank. Its black granite base, Bedford limestone walls, bronze and plate glass support a Neo-Classical Doric design, with eight fluted columns thirty-five feet high and a cornice frieze of cast bronze discs. Inside, a banking room ninety by one hundred eight feet rises to a richly ornamented rotunda, finished in Travertine and Sienna marble, with bronze chandeliers and a marble stairway to the safety deposit vault. At the time it was second in height only to one bank in New York. The building was listed as a lavish expression of Houston's banking wealth before the Stock Market Crash. The bank moved out in 1964, and later occupants restored the interior. When Franklin Bank entered receivership in 1975, the building stood vacant, and local preservationists hoped recognition would encourage its preservation.","period_of_significance":"1928","architect_builder":"Hedrick & Gottlieb, Inc.","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical (Doric); Neo-Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacant since March 1975, when the last occupant, Franklin Bank, went into receivership; condition listed as excellent.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.706223-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/9723/40972308/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/75001990.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001990/05388e6224-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001990/05388e6224-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jim Evans","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Houston_National_Bank_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Evans</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Houston_National_Bank_Building.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83004471","name":"Main Street/Market Square Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/main-street-market-square-historic-district-83004471/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972308","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002189"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/harris-county/old-houston-national-bank-75001990/"}