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September 12

Swedish American State Bank, Chicago

I stumbled over this bank building in Chicago on a blog and got curious about the bank itself and its history, and about who its presumably Swedish-immigrant founders might have been. (I have often heard it repeated that Chicago about 1900 or so had a Swedish population larger than that of Stockholm, and this appears to have been a predominantly Swedish neighbourhood.) But lo and behold, Wikipedia had absolutely nothing on the Swedish American State Bank. The building appears to be regarded as a local landmark, but the bank seems to be mostly forgotten. Googling the name turns up a bank in Courtland, Kansas with the same name. I assume it could be the sole remaining branch of a once-larger bank that also owned the Andersonville building, or another company that at some point took over the name. So, if someone has an interest in Swedish-American history, Chicago local history or the banking history of the Midwestern U.S. and more time than I do to research it, here is a subject for you to write about. --Hegvald (talk) 16:43, 12 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The names of the officers and directors in 1912 of the newly established Swedish American State Bank in Chocago do not sound particularly Swedish.^[1] In 1918 there are SASBs in Courtland, Kansas, and St. Paul, Minnesota.^[2] --Lambiam 21:34, 12 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

"The bank was founded to serve the large Swedish population that settled in Edgewater's southwestern edge around Clark Street, between Foster and Bryn Mawr Avenues, which became known as "Andersonville." The free and unusual interpretation of the Classical Revival style of architecture is characteristic of the architectural firm of Ottenheimer, Stern and Reicher". [3]

"The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition had a big impact on architecture in Chicago. The Fair buildings were designed in a Classical Revival style, specifically that of the Beaux Arts. Subsequently, after the Fair, classical buildings were popping up all over Chicago. A style that implies great dignity, it was a natural choice for a bank". [4]

The Inter Ocean reported on March 13, 1913, that the stockholders had voted to change the name to the Capital State Savings bank and that the bank was due to open its doors about May 15. The Dispatch (Moline, Ill.) reported on Feb. 10, 1922, that the Capital State Savings bank, Chicago, had increased its capital stock from $200,000 to $300,000. I see no references to the bank as a functioning institution after 1930, so it most likely did not survive the Depression. John M Baker (talk) 12:13, 15 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]