11 Oct the last of the three southern minnesota banks: purcell and elmslie’s first state bank of leroy (1914)
photographic survey of purcell and elmslie’s first state bank of leroy (1914), located at 102 w. main street, leroy, mn.
the building is devoid of the characteristic elmslie-designed terra cotta ornament, given the fact that one of the bank director’s would veto any proposal for a design exceeding ten thousand dollars.
still, the richly colored art glass lunette buried deep within the sweeping roman arch above the main entrance, is an interesting and noteworthy alternative to the proposed use of polychromatic terra cotta that would’ve have pushed costs well above the limit.
william purcell lamented the bank’s resulting simplicity, saying “… due to extreme economy, the building was at best all too severe in character, and greatly needed the lift which color and pattern in the entrance arch would have given the facade.”
