Terra Alta Bank, also known as The History House, is a historic bank building located at Terra Alta, Preston County, West Virginia. It was built in 1893, and is a three-story, six bay wide brick Italianate style commercial building. It has a cast iron storefront on the first floor of the main facade and metal window surrounds on the upper floors. The roof line of the building has a decorative bracketed cast iron cornice on three sides.
Terra Alta Bank | |
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| Location | 109 E. Washington St., Terra Alta, West Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 39°26′42″N 79°32′45″W / 39.4449°N 79.5459°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1893 |
| Built by | Gakes Brother and Sharp |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000786[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 9, 1997 |
The Terra Alta Bank was chartered in 1891 as the second bank established in Preston County. In 1893, its board undertook construction of the three-story Italianate building designed by Gakes Brothers & Sharps. It was the only bank in Preston County to survive the Great Depression.[2] The bank occupied the building until 1991, after which it was partly occupied by a local historical society.[3]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Preston's History House Museum began life as a bank". WV News. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ Charles A. Thomas (February 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Terra Alta Bank" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
External links
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