The Lost Banks It's hard to be nostalgic about banks, and many of these are still standing. Of course banks in the 20s and 30s were built like fortresses to convey an image of security and were not very practical for other uses except as a place to congregate. Click on thumbnails to enlarge <>
I have to start with the neighborhood's most historic bank. East New York Savings was on the southeast corner of Pennsylvania and Atlantic Avenues. Shots of ENY Savings are on the Pennsylvania Avenue page. It was demolished in 2016 and replaced by a Medical Center.
Bank of the United States Address: Northeast corner, Ashford and Sutter Block: 4032 Lot: 1 Year Constructed: 1928(est) We start with one of our mysteries. JoAnn Montgomery helped us out a great deal by tracking down tax photos. Although we knew this building had a long history as a Talmud Torah, or Hebrew School, it always looked like a bank to us. The tax photo did not help much, but I believe this building was constructed for the Bank of the United States sometime around 1928. After the crash, many of these banks went bust and were quickly absorbed into other banks. Rod Maggio recalls this served as a Manufacturers Hanover branch. I don't have a date as to when it switched use or when it became the Free Mission Church, seen in a more recent image from Demetrius Pestun.
Public National Bank Address: 574 Sutter Avenue Block: 3769 Lot: 24 Year Constructed: circa 1928 Demolished: 1967 (est) The New York City Housing Authority maintains a photo archive of their work, and I discovered the 1967 image of Bankers Trust at this location. JoAnne's tax photo reveals it was originally the Public National Bank, which was acquired by Banker's Trust. Now a residential complex. (2009 image from Bing Maps.)
Montauk Bank Address: Southwest corner, Montauk and Pitkin Avenues Block: 4008 Lot:45 Year Constructed: 1927 From the Brian Merlis collection, Montauk Bank had headquarters elsewhere in Brooklyn and it may be just an extraordinary coincidence that they built a branch on Montauk Avenue itself. It appears to be that there is already a banking structure on the far left, and large building to the right was meant to be offices, I don't know. Tom Hammond realized I had this orientation backwards; the view is north, and the building is no longer standing. I do know it became a branch of the Public National Bank in 1929, and Tom has a friend who recalls when the bank was there on the northeast corner, so I have followup to do. The el along Pitkin is of course gone. On the far right, Jack Donato found a rather tragic story about the bank from 1930.
Williamsburg Savings Bank Address: Northwest corner, New Lots and Pennsylvania Avenues Block: 3839 Lot: 46 Year Constructed: 1952 (est) JoAnne Montgomery supplied us with the 1941 tax photo of the location, which was pretty well developed. Looking at aerial images it appears they did not demolish the corner building but modified it. Williamsburgh was eventually bought by Republic National Bank, and this building was mortgaged to God's Watchtower in 1976. It is now the Hope Christian Center.
National City Bank Address: Northwest corner, Liberty and Pennsylvania Avenues Block: Lot: Constructed: 1922 Built for the Homestead Bank, the Brooklyn Eagle article from January 9, 1922 makes reference to a prior location diagonally opposite this corner. Merged into National City Bank the same year (a precursor to Citibank), it was known as the "Homestead Branch". This building was sold to the Jehovah Witnesses in 1977 and currently serves as a church.
26th Ward Bank Address: Northwest corner, Atlantic and Georgia Avenues Block: Lot: Constructed: 1892 Mostly demolished, only the facade was retained in a 2006 renovation. We have a full page devoted to the 26th Ward Bank .
Manufacturers Hanover Address: Northeast corner, Van Siclen and Blake Avenues, 799 Blake Block: 4042 Lot:42 Constructed: 1927 Thanks to Marty Moscicki and Tom Hammond for tipping us off on this one. Constructed as The State Bank, which eventually became part of Manufacturers Hanover, it appears on the 1929 insurance maps though some sites list the construction date as 1930. The ad on the right appeared in a 1927 Thomas Jefferson High yearbook so the bank appears to date back even further. Marty recalls it was still open as Man Han in his day, and recounts a funny story; "When I was young, and started collecting coins, I used to drive the tellers crazy, constantly getting rolled coins, taking them home to look for ones I needed, and then re-rolling them to return and exchange, starting the cycle again - sometimes, on a Saturday, I'd be in there 10 times!" I don't know if Marty caused them to close, but they did sell the building in 1977 to a church organization. Now the New Day International Church of God..
Chase Manhattan Bank Address: Drew Street and Liberty Avenue Block: Lot: Constructed: 1925 I'm cheating a little bit, this is just over the border in Queens. Dominick Mondelli sent the image from 1950. Chase sold the building in 2001.

The Lost Banks

It's hard to be nostalgic about banks, and many of these are still standing. Of course banks in the 20s and 30s were built like fortresses to convey an image of security and were not very practical for other uses except as a place to congregate. Click on thumbnails to enlarge

It's hard to be nostalgic about banks, and many of these are still standing. Of course banks in the 20s and 30s were built like fortresses to convey an image of security and were not very practical for other uses except as a place to congregate.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge