Bowery Savings Bank
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Why it's listed
Bowery Savings Bank occupies an L-shaped lot at 130 Bowery in Manhattan, with fronts on the Bowery, Grand Street and Elizabeth Street. McKim, Mead & White designed it in 1893 as a marble building in the neo-Roman style. The Bowery front is a Corinthian temple front framing a triumphal arch, with a pediment group by sculptor Frederick MacMonnies. Inside, marbleized columns create a room within a room, so the irregular trapezoidal space reads as a regular banking hall. The building was among the first neo-Roman works to follow the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition and was the firm's first Roman design after the fair. The bank traces its start to 1835 on this site and had become the country's largest financial institution by assets by 1893. The building remains almost entirely unaltered, with original lamps, bronze stanchions, grilles and floor mosaics. Its architectural and sculptural quality is the basis for its listing.
Significance in brief: It was among the very first neo-Roman buildings to follow the style's popularization at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition, and it was McKim, Mead & White's first Roman building after the fair. Its pediment sculpture is by Frederick MacMonnies. The bank is also reputed to be the only New York bank still operating a branch on the site where it first began business.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80002672, listed April 23, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 130 Bowery St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | April 23, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80002672 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1893 |
| Architect / builder | McKim, Mead & White |
| Architectural style | Neo-Roman (Roman style, Beaux-Arts influenced) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in excellent condition, unaltered from its original appearance, on its original site, and occupied. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | The Bowery Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.71885, -73.99510 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80002672.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q56606042
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.