{"nrhp_refnum":"82002280","name":"Bank of Italy Building","other_names":["Bank of America Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"128 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Visalia","county":"Tulare County","state":"CA","lat":36.33031574800003,"lon":-119.28872641299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story plus basement steel-frame bank and office building at 128 E. Main Street, Visalia, California, built 1922-1924 on the corner of Main and Church Streets. It was designed and built by R. F. Felchlin & Co. of Fresno.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a handsome, highly intact example of an early 20th-century bank, using Neo-classical and Renaissance elements to convey permanence and stability. It is also the work of an important San Joaquin Valley architectural and engineering firm. It was the center of Visalia's economic activity and its tallest building, and it remains one of the few large early 20th-century commercial buildings in town.","narrative":"Rising five stories above the corner of Main and Church Streets in Visalia, this steel-frame bank and office building was constructed between 1922 and 1924 for the Bank of Italy at a cost of $300,000. Its Classical Revival design pairs a monumental sandstone first story, with fluted pilasters and a Greek Doric entablature, with plain yellow brick upper floors topped by an elaborate copper cornice. Inside, the banking hall retains octagonal columns, tinted plaster moldings and a large clock, and the elevator lobby has marble finishes. The site has hosted banking since 1874, passing from the Bank of Visalia to the National Bank of Visalia, the Bank of Italy and later the Bank of America. The building served for decades as the center of Visalia's business life, with professionals occupying the upper floors. It was the tallest building in the city and was designed by the Fresno firm R. F. Felchlin & Co. Banking continues there today.","period_of_significance":"1922-1924","architect_builder":"R. F. Felchlin & Co., Fresno, CA.","architectural_style":"Classical Revival (two-part vertical block), with Neo-classical and Renaissance elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Banking continues in the building; the first floor was restored in 1979 as a bank main office. Condition is listed as excellent and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.518384-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/82002280.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002280/e81e21b968-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002280/e81e21b968-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bobak Ha'Eri","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0725-CA-Visalia-BankofItalty.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bobak Ha'Eri</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0725-CA-Visalia-BankofItalty.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123862209","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Italy_(Visalia,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4856136"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/tulare-county/bank-of-italy-building-82002280/"}