First National Bank and Trust Building

Rising twelve stories above Lima's Public Square, this commercial building was completed in 1926 for the Lima Trust Company. Chicago architects Weary & Alford designed it, and W.H. Horster of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the builder. The walls are gray Indiana limestone set over a base of polished granite. Piers and spandrels sit on the same plane and are linked at the top by arches, doorways are arched, and a bracketed cornice of moderate projection crowns the structure. Inside, the original bank room keeps Renaissance details and stained glass. The Lima Trust Company was incorporated in 1903, first working from the Masonic building and then from the old Ashton Block between 1906 and 1926, before moving here. The bank later became the First National Bank and Trust Company and, in 1974, the Huntington National Bank. The building was bought in 1944 by the National Building Corporation. It was recognized mainly for its outstanding Chicago style commercial architecture and its well-preserved bank room.