Lincoln Bank Tower

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Information
Lincoln Tower

Location	Fort Wayne, Ind., U.S.
Status	Complete
Constructed	1929
Use	Office
Roof	312' (95 m)
Floor count	22
Floor area	square feet ( m²)
Companies
Architect	Alvin M. Strauss

The Lincoln Tower, at 116 East Berry Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, is an art deco skyscraper. For decades, it was the only skyscraper in Indiana.

The building was also known as "Lincoln Bank Tower" to distinguish it from the building at 215 Berry Street, which had been known as the "Lincoln Life Building" from 1912 until 1923. Today, that other building is commonly known by the original Elektron Building name.

1 The bank behind the building
2 The building behind the bank
3 Building details
4 Modern history
5 External links

[edit] The bank behind the building

Lincoln National Bank and Trust was chartered as The German American National Bank in 1905. During World War I, anti-German sentiment had run high. German Shepherd dogs became Alsatians, sauerkraut became liberty cabbage, and the city of Syracuse, New York, banned the German card game of pinochle. On May 31, 1918, the German American National Bank became Lincoln National Bank.

The choice of Lincoln as a name was fairly appealing. Not only was there that thriving insurance company, also founded in 1905, down the street, but people were still excited about the Lincoln Highway, "the main street of America" that passed through Fort Wayne to be the first coast-to-coast highway in the US.

In 1928, Lincoln National Bank merged with Lincoln Trust Company (formerly known as Strauss Brothers Commercial Bank) to become Lincoln National Bank and Trust, located on Court Street.

[edit] The building behind the bank

Shortly after Lincoln National Bank and Trust was formed, President Charles Buesching commissioned a skyscraper to serve as headquarters for the new bank. Buesching considered it to be a monument to the German immigrants who settled the Fort Wayne area at the turn of the 20th century and formed the backbone of his investors, depositors, and customers. Buesching himself was a German immigrant.

Lincoln Bank Tower groundbreaking August 16, 1929.

Alvin M. Strauss of Fort Wayne was architect, while Buesching and Hagerman were contractors for the building. After 75 years, the building is still considered magnificent.[1] Some design elements were based on the Tribune Tower in Chicago and the Empire State Building in New York City.

Ground was broken on August 16, 1929, for the building, and despite the Great Crash on October 24, construction continued on the $1.3 million structure.

It was the tallest building of any kind in the state until the 1960s, and tallest in Fort Wayne until One Summit Square, five stories taller, was built in 1981.

[edit] Building details

Seven bronze panels[2] at the main entrance depict scenes from the life of President Abraham Lincoln. The building is constructed of 1 774 tons of structural steel, faced with 21 250 cubic feet of cut Indiana limestone and granite with gold highlights. It features lead spandrel panels, a 58-ton terra-cotta crown, and 500 tons of marble. At the top of the building is a slender observation tower topped by a flagpole.

Between the entrance and the lobby, there is a snack shop with the original 1930 soda fountain still in use. The main banking lobby itself is 85 feet wide, 110 feet long, and two stories tall. There are large art deco murals depicting the industries and the seasons, using elemental symbolism from Greek and Egyptian traditions, such as a female form to represent fecundity and the sun to represent energy. Materials include hand-wrought bronze, Milford granite, Italian Travertine marble, several rate types of green Vermont marble, and Indiana limestone.

Lincoln Bank Tower entrance detail.

[edit] Modern history

In 1995, the former Lincoln National Bank and Trust, now Norwest Bank, moved into new facilities at Norwest City Center. Lincoln Tower was 60% vacant after this move.

In 1997, Lincoln Tower was sold at sheriff's sale. There had been a $2 million defaulton the mortgage of a building that originally cost $1.3 million to build.

In 1998, Tippmann Properties bought Lincoln Tower, and began to carefully refurbish it. A new bank, calling itself Tower Bank, announced it will open in Lincoln Tower, occupying the lobby and some office space.