{"nrhp_refnum":"86000302","name":"First National Bank Building","other_names":["Lawyers Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"168--170 W. Main Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gastonia","county":"Gaston County","state":"NC","lat":35.26380110000008,"lon":-81.18295753399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-02-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Economics","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story Neo-classical office tower at 168-170 West Main Avenue in downtown Gastonia, Gaston County, North Carolina, built 1916-1917 and designed by Wilson and Sompayrac.","why_significant":"It is the earlier of two skyscrapers in Gastonia and symbolizes the textile prosperity of the Piedmont Carolinas. Its founding bank officers were leading local mill owners, and the design came from Charles Coker Wilson, a prominent South Carolina architect. It is one of only two early twentieth century skyscrapers in Gaston County and one of few well-preserved early downtown buildings.","narrative":"Rising seven stories above West Main Avenue in downtown Gastonia, this cream-colored brick office tower was built in 1916-1917 for the First National Bank of Gastonia. Wilson and Sompayrac, a respected South Carolina firm, designed it in the Neo-classical style with limestone and terra cotta trim, a tripartite facade, and a heavy modillion cornice. The bank's founders, Laban L. Jenkins, John H. Craig, and George Washington Ragan, were leading textile mill men, and the tower reflected the wealth of Gaston County's mill boom. Early tenants included cotton brokers, mill offices, lawyers, and insurance agents. The bank failed in 1933, but another bank used the building until about 1957, after which it became the Lawyers Building. Apart from a remodeled first floor, it keeps its original character, including the Directors' Room, corridors with mosaic floors, and the Otis elevator machinery. It is one of only two early skyscrapers in the county.","period_of_significance":"1916-1917","architect_builder":"Wilson and Sompayrac (architects); Travis-Wood Company of Richmond (general contractor)","architectural_style":"Neo-classical","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in commercial use; in good original condition except for the altered first-floor interior and front facade. Known as the Lawyers Building after the bank left around 1957.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.989929-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/7203/47720377/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/86000302.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000302/3dbd495b77-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000302/3dbd495b77-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_National_Bank_or_Lawyers_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Upstateherd</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_or_Lawyers_Building.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"03001375","name":"Downtown Gastonia Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/downtown-gastonia-historic-district-03001375/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720377","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_National_Bank_Building_(Gastonia,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19461752"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/gaston-county/first-national-bank-building-86000302/"}