Beaux-Arts style building stands across from entrance to the Manhattan Bridge. On August 9, 2011, Landmarks designated the Citizens Savings Bank at 58 Bowery in Manhattan as an individual City landmark. Architect Clarence W. Brazer designed the domed, granite-clad bank in 1922. The monumental Beaux-Arts style building sits on a square lot at the corner of Canal Street, across from the Manhattan Bridge. The building rises to 110 feet and features a main banking hall with ceilings reaching 70 feet. The bank features four large, recessed, arched windows, framed by pilasters. Decorative elements include Charles Keck-designed sculptures on the cornice that would have been visible to passengers on the elevated Third Avenue rail line that once passed through the neighborhood.

Citizens Savings Bank was founded in 1860 to serve the neighborhood’s working class, largely immigrant community. The building has been continuously used for banking and is currently occupied by HSBC Bank.  (read more…)