{"nrhp_refnum":"89002087","name":"Mount Morris Bank","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E. 125th St. and Park Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.80546006000003,"lon":-73.93901889799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-12-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story red brick and stone former bank and mixed-use commercial/residential building at the northwest corner of East 125th Street and Park Avenue in Harlem, New York City, built in 1883 and enlarged in 1897.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is architecturally significant as a distinctive Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival mixed-use building and a rare surviving late-nineteenth-century bank in New York City. It was designed by the prominent firm Lamb & Rich. It also recalls Harlem's growth into a prosperous middle-class neighborhood and the rise of 125th Street as its commercial thoroughfare.","narrative":"Standing at the northwest corner of East 125th Street and Park Avenue, this five-story red brick building began as the Mount Morris Bank, organized in 1880 and possibly the first bank in Harlem. Lamb & Rich designed it in 1883 and enlarged it in the same style in 1897. It combines a heavy rock-faced stone base with Queen Anne features, including three-story galvanized-iron oriels, molded brick bosses, terra-cotta roundels and plaques, and a decorated cornice. Originally it held a two-story banking hall, offices and six French flats, which were later converted to offices. The bank became a branch of the Corn Exchange Bank in 1913, later passing to Chemical Bank, which stayed until the 1960s. Later commercial tenants and several churches followed. The building has been vacant and sealed since the late 1970s. It is valued as a rare surviving late-nineteenth-century bank and as evidence of Harlem's rapid growth after the elevated railroads arrived.","period_of_significance":"1883-1897","architect_builder":"Lamb & Rich (Architects)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Queen Anne, Romanesque","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Vacant for several years, with its lower floors sealed by the City of New York; the exterior retains a high level of integrity.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:46.177134-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/89002087.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002087/043c50bac6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002087/043c50bac6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_Morris_Bank_fr_south_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_Morris_Bank_fr_south_jeh.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319744","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Morris_Bank_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6922286"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/mount-morris-bank-89002087/"}