Farmers' and Exchange Bank
National Register Listing
Street Address:
14 E. Bay St., Charleston, SC (Charleston County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817710067
Description and Narrative:
The building was designed by Edward C. Jones and Francis D. Lee in 1853 and was completed in 1854. Both of these architects were Charlestonians. The Farmers’ and Exchange Bank is perhaps the only example of the Moorish picturesque style that evolved from one aspect of English Regency architecture. The building is stucco on brick and brownstone, with a flat roof, a two-story Moorish arcaded façade, and a high skylighted banking room with elaborate plaster decoration employing Spanish and Moorish motifs. The building has rounded horseshoe arches, reminiscent of Spanish architecture, on a façade made of pale Jersey and somber Connecticut brownstone, producing the striped effect which is typical of many Moorish structures. The rear wing has the conventional Classical Revival style. This building has long been recognized to be of utmost importance to American architecture and its design is though to have been influenced by illustrations in Washington Irving’s The Alhambra, a volume which was published about the same time that the building was constructed. Listed in the National Register November 7, 1973; Designated a National Historic Landmark November 7, 1973.
Period of Significance:
1853 – 1854;19th century
Level of Significance:
National
Area of Significance:
Architecture
National Register Determination:
National Historic Landmark
Date of Certification:
November 7 1973
