{"nrhp_refnum":"97000510","name":"Bank Block Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1255--1293 Grandview Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Grandview","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.98284605600003,"lon":-83.04542773199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-09-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A combination one- and two-story brick commercial building at 1255-1293 Grandview Avenue in Grandview Heights, a Columbus suburb in Franklin County, Ohio, built in 1928 by developer Don Monroe Casto.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an example of the \"taxpayer strip,\" a linear suburban commercial form designed around the automobile, and that it was one of Don Casto's first strip shopping centers and the largest of its kind in metropolitan Columbus. It marks a midpoint between nineteenth-century Main Street commerce and later auto-oriented retail. It is nominated under Criteria A and C for commerce and community planning and development.","narrative":"Bank Block is a brick commercial building occupying a full block of Grandview Avenue in Grandview Heights, Ohio. Built in 1928 by developer Don Monroe Casto, it alternates one- and two-story sections, with sixteen ground-floor storefronts and upstairs offices and apartments. Georgian Revival touches include quoins, stone surrounds and a concrete belt course, and the name appears in Art Deco-inspired lettering. A rear lot held 350 cars. The building is a local example of the \"taxpayer strip,\" a suburban shopping form shaped by the automobile. Casto named it for its first tenant, First Citizens Trust, and early occupants included Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and A&P. It was among his first strip centers and the largest of its type in the Columbus area. Later changes include a restaurant addition at the north end, stucco on one section, new upper windows, and removal of parapets and balconies, yet the storefront openings, archways and Georgian Revival details remain. Its significance period runs from 1928 to 1947.","period_of_significance":"1928-1947","architect_builder":"Don Monroe Casto Developer, Columbus, Ohio","architectural_style":"Late 19th & Early 20th Century Revivals: Georgian Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in commercial use. Upstairs apartments are now used as offices. Storefronts have been altered, with awnings added, second-floor windows replaced and iron balconies removed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.75983-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/97000510.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000510/e859e9f01f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000510/e859e9f01f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"User:Xavier86","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panorama_of_Bank_Block_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Xavier86</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:Panorama_of_Bank_Block_Building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988577","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Block_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q136346041"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/bank-block-building-97000510/"}