{"nrhp_refnum":"82004591","name":"First National Bank","other_names":["People's Federal Building","Liberty Trust Co."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"101 S. Jefferson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Roanoke (Independent City)","county":"Roanoke (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.27224159000008,"lon":-79.94090177499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story granite and buff-brick bank and office building at 101 South Jefferson Street in downtown Roanoke, Virginia, completed in 1910 to designs by Norfolk architect John Kevan Peebles.","why_significant":"The building is the work of Peebles, a leading early 20th-century Virginia architect, and reflects the most modern bank, office and fireproofing design of its day. It housed the first bank founded in Roanoke after its 1882 charter, a bank whose growth paralleled the city's rise as a financial and industrial center. Its banking hall is one of the best-preserved of its era in the state.","narrative":"Rising seven stories at the corner of South Jefferson Street and Salem Avenue in downtown Roanoke, this bank and office building was completed in 1910 from designs by Norfolk architect John Kevan Peebles. Its first two stories are North Carolina granite, with buff brick above and a terra cotta cornice. Roman Ionic marble columns frame the entrance, and Doric columns in the banking hall derive from the Temple of Apollo at Delos. A local newspaper called it a \"Temple of Finance.\" When built, it was the most advanced fireproof structure in Roanoke, with electric elevators, modern plumbing and steam heat. It served the First National Bank, the first bank founded in Roanoke after its 1882 charter, created to handle the financial business of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad. The bank grew alongside the city until a 1926 merger, and later owners included a trust company and a savings and loan. The banking hall survives with few alterations, and the building was vacant when nominated.","period_of_significance":"1910","architect_builder":"John Kevan Peebles","architectural_style":"French Renaissance influence with Beaux Arts classicism","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Banking hall in excellent state of preservation; building vacant at time of nomination, with plans to return it to bank and office use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.773414-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/93/6832/41683293/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/82004591.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004591/37102917e9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004591/37102917e9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Patriarca12","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_National_Bank_in_Roanoke,_Virginia.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Patriarca12</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:First_National_Bank_in_Roanoke,_Virginia.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"02000978","name":"Roanoke Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/roanoke-downtown-historic-district-02000978/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683293","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_National_Bank_(Roanoke,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16836959"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/roanoke/first-national-bank-82004591/"}