{"nrhp_refnum":"82004586","name":"First National Bank Building","other_names":["Old First and Merchants National Bank Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"825--27 East Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.53820627300007,"lon":-77.43659849899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A nineteen-story steel-frame office tower at 825-27 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia, built 1911-1913 as headquarters of First National Bank and designed by Alfred Charles Bossom with Charles W. Clinton.","why_significant":"It is one of the finest Neoclassical commercial buildings in Richmond and the city's first high-rise tower, the tallest in the city when completed. It combines monumental classical ornament with early steel-frame construction. It also served for over half a century as headquarters of the state's oldest banking institution, and is one of three adjacent Bossom-related financial buildings.","narrative":"Rising nineteen stories at Ninth and East Main Streets in downtown Richmond, this steel-frame office tower was completed in 1913 as the home of First National Bank. It was the city's first high-rise and its tallest building when finished. Alfred Charles Bossom, working with the New York firm Clinton and Russell, clad the structure in limestone, granite and brick, with fifty-foot fluted Corinthian pilasters at the base and terra cotta ornament concentrated at the base and top floors. Inside, the two-story banking room and elevator lobby carried the richest finishes, including marble, brass and carved bronze elevator doors. Two hand-made Diebold vault doors remain in use. The bank, founded in 1865, merged with Merchants Bank in 1926 and stayed in the building until 1975. Renovations in 1963 and the loss of the cornice in 1966 altered the exterior, yet the tower still reads as a landmark of early skyscraper design and Neoclassical financial architecture.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific dates 1911-1913)","architect_builder":"Alfred Charles Bossom in assoc. with Charles W. Clinton.","architectural_style":"Neoclassical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in fair condition; maintained for office rental after the bank moved out in 1975, with renovation for office space planned. The cornice was removed in 1966 and other alterations were made in 1963.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.056004-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/6829/41682969/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/82004586.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004586/85893027f7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004586/85893027f7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Crazyale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FNB_Richmond.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Crazyale</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:FNB_Richmond.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"05000527","name":"Main Street Banking Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/main-street-banking-historic-district-additional-documentation-05000527/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682969","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_National_Bank_Building_(Richmond,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16891293"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/first-national-bank-building-82004586/"}