Commercial National Bank
- Architect
- Waddy Butler Wood
- City
- Washington, DC
Commercial National Bank, completed in 1917 at 1405 G Street NW, was designed by Waddy Butler Wood to house a bank organized in 1904 that grew into the fourth-largest in the city by the 1920s, along with tenant Western Union. The bank's capital was frozen at the value of the building itself when it failed in 1933.
the building
Corner massing and facade. The 11-story building presents strong corner massing in limestone, with flattened porticos, a plain ashlar middle section, and a prominent cornice above. Greek Doric motifs supply the building's austere decorative accents.
Three-story banking lobby. Inside, the building opens into a three-story banking lobby lined with monumental columns, scaled to the grandeur expected of a major early twentieth-century bank.
the style
The design is an early example of the simplified, stylized classicism that became popular through the 1920s, pairing austere Greek Doric detailing with restrained limestone facades.
the architect
Waddy Butler Wood was a prominent Washington, D.C. architect active across the city in the early twentieth century.
significance
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and is a designated DC Historic Landmark.
nearby
- Bond Building
- Westory Building
- Second National Bank
- Chase's Theater and Riggs Building
- Federal-American National Bank
- National Metropolitan Bank