City Bank Building Demolished – Feb. 18, 1964

I’ve posted many ads for the City Bank Company over the years, so it’s only fitting that I post this. It’s a photo of City Bank’s stately main headquarters at the southwest corner of E. 28th Street and Pearl Avenue being demolished after the building was damaged during an October 1963 fire.

The photo ran on the front page of the Journal on Feb. 18, 1964 – 55 years ago today.

As I noted back on this post, City Bank had an impressive Lorain pedigree. "Among those responsible for organizing the City Bank were A. J. Moxham, president of the Johnson Steel Company which later became the National Tube Co., Lorain Division; Pierre S. DuPont, president of the Sheffield Land Co. and later head of the great E. I. DuPont De Nemours’ extensive interests; F. A. Smythe, who was associated with the Sheffield Land Co. and later was for many years head of the Thew Shovel Co.; Judge Elbert H. Gary, chairman of the board of U. S. Steel Corporation; H. C. Ryding, superintendent  of the rolling mills here who later became head of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railway Co.; Col. J. J. Sullivan, prominent banker and businessman in Cleveland; Tom L. Johnson, founder of the Johnson Steel Company, one of the nation’s leading steel railway men and famous mayor of Cleveland.”

The demolished building was replaced at the 2800 Pearl Avenue location with this structure (seen below in a recent Google Maps view).

City Bank merged with the Central Trust Company (another favorite topic on this blog) in July 1984. Central Trust was then acquired by Bank One in the early 1990s; Bank One merged with JPMorgan Chase & Company in 2004.

It’s sad (but somewhat impressive) that only First Federal Savings of Lorain continues to maintain its original identity and presence in its hometown city.