17 May a closer look at terra cotta lions, fountain, and stained glass at louis sullivan’s merchants and farmers bank (1919)
my most recent visit to louis h. sullivan’s farmers and merchants union bank focused on documenting the interior, including the richly colored stained glass windows, executed by louis j. millet, the polychromed drinking fountain, designed by sullivan and executed by the american terra cotta company, and finally, to thoroughly document the exterior terra cotta rearing lions, finished in a distinctive “pulsichrome” finish (i.e., sprayed using multiple layers to achieve a multi-colored, textured surface). a brief description of the lions (housed in the bld. 51 musuem collection and how they were cast from the same mold used for farmers and merchants lions (excluding the monogram on the shields), and description of the sullivan-designed bank is included below.
note: additional images of the bank’s interior will be added in this post or future post when time permits.
two original historically important richly colored glazed terra cotta rearing lions executed by the american terra cotta company, chicago, ills. the lions are nearly identical – both in size and proportion – to the lions louis h. sullivan designed and used on the 1919 merchants and merchants union bank located in columbus, wisc. the lions were sculpted by kristian schneider, who modeled much of sullivan’s ornament in terra cotta, plaster, and iron. the two lions were discovered in the backyard of a chicago resident.
the farmers & merchants union bank first got its humble start in a dry goods store in columbus, wisconsin, at the immediate out start of the civil war. new yorker and businessman john r. wheeler named it “the union bank” to signify his support for the northern states and abraham lincoln. several years later, at the end of the war, the bank moved into the “telephone building” and “union bank” became the addendum to its current name. the enterprise would not reach its current iteration until 1918, when the bank president (and descendant of john wheeler) decided to expand, and commission a new building.
further reading:
THREE HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT CHICAGO BUILDING ARTIFACTS JOIN BLDG. 51 MUSEUM COLLECTION
