{"nrhp_refnum":"90000545","name":"Citizens Bank Building","other_names":["Yancey County Public Library Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Town Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Burnsville","county":"Yancey County","state":"NC","lat":35.916777040000056,"lon":-82.29992512299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story yellow brick former bank building on the south side of Town Square in Burnsville, Yancey County, North Carolina, constructed in 1925 and now used as the county public library.","why_significant":"It is Burnsville's only high-style building and its only commercial building in the Renaissance Revival style, dating from western North Carolina's 1920s boom years. It also reflects the commercial growth of Yancey County from its construction in 1925 until the Citizens Bank closed in 1932 during the Depression. Its well-preserved interior plasterwork adds to its architectural value.","narrative":"Built in 1925 on the south side of Town Square in Burnsville, this yellow brick building was designed for the Citizens Bank of Yancey County and is the town's only high-style structure. Its Renaissance Revival design features monumental pilasters with simplified Corinthian capitals, tall round arches with granite keystones, a granite entablature and a plainer top story. Inside, ornate plaster ceiling medallions, a classical frieze and an elaborate vault doorway survive, and library shelving was installed without touching the decorated walls. The bank was organized in 1908, when lumber and mica mining were bringing prosperity to the county, and it built this larger, more stylish home in 1925. After the bank closed in 1932, Northwestern Bank bought the building in 1937 and used it for banking until donating it to the county in 1972 for use as a public library. It is recognized for its architecture and for what it shows about local commercial growth.","period_of_significance":"1925-32","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Now used as the Yancey County Public Library; the bank closed in 1932 and the county received the building in 1972. Original double doors have been replaced, but interior plasterwork is well maintained.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.02746-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/7229/47722902/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/90000545.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000545/1c19282d0b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000545/1c19282d0b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_Citizens_Bank_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:Former_Citizens_Bank_Building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722902","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_Bank_Building_(Burnsville,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20708660"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/yancey-county/citizens-bank-building-90000545/"}