After over 90 years of operation as a bank, the Art Deco Bank Building in downtown Rockville is for sale after M&T closed in September. This beautiful historic building is Rockville’s only surviving example of Art Deco architecture and has been a part of the Rockville streetscape for almost a century.
In 1900, the Maryland General Assembly chartered Farmers Banking and Trust Company. The bank opened in a small rented room in Rockville with capital stock of $50,000. The directors purchased a lot on the corner of Court Street and Commerce Lane and hired architect Thomas C. Groomes to design a new bank.
In 1930, plans for the new County Courthouse now known as the Grey Courthouse forced demolition of buildings in the block bounded by Court, Washington, and Jefferson Streets and Montgomery Avenue. Farmers relocated across the main street from the new courthouse to a modern bank that cost $160,000. The Tilghman Moyer Company of Allentown, PA designed the building in the popular Art Deco style in 1931.
The bank’s exterior, interior, and entry abound with carved reliefs of Deco motifs – eagles, radiating lines, half-circles and zig-zags. Original Farmers Bank signs remain on the building and on the vault door. Interior light fixtures, clock, doors, and ceiling panels have maintained the historic character.
Farmers Bank survived the Great Depression and continued operating for many years under the stewardship of Richard F. Green. A branch opened in Twinbrook in 1958. The bank name became First National, Allfirst, and then M&T Bank.
In the 1960s, this building was one of the “conservation buildings” that eluded urban renewal. The bank was listed in the prestigious National Register of Historic Places as part of the Montgomery County Courthouses Historic District in 1986.
However, the Art Deco Bank is not locally designated, meaning the next owner could dramatically alter the exterior or demolish portions of the building without any input from the Historic District Commission. The Zoning Ordinance requires that for such protections, historic properties be designated as sites or as part of a local historic district.
Peerless Rockville is hopeful that the City will expand the boundaries of the Courthouse Square Historic District, which includes the 1891 Red Brick Courthouse, the 1931 Grey Courthouse, and the 1938 Post Office, to protect this irreplaceable property. The Art Deco Bank certainly qualifies and deserves to be preserved for the benefit of the Rockville community now and in the future.
We encourage the incoming Mayor and Council to act to protect this unique building.
