SAHARA Highlights: Banks

This month, we feature images of banks built since the late 18^th century. SAHARA has especially good coverage of modern banks in metropolitan centers around the world, as this sample reveals, with buildings in Buenos Aires and Phnum Pénh.

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William Chambers, Royal Bank of Scotland (built as Dundas House), St. Andrew’s Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom; built 1771, converted to Excise Office in 1796, acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland in 1825. Photograph by Richard Longstreth.

Ithiel Town, Thompson Bank, Thompson, Connecticut, c. 1834. Photograph by Lauren Soth.

Otto Wagner, Postsparkasse (Post Office Savings Bank), Georg-Coch-Platz 2, Vienna, Austria, 1904-1912. Photograph by Allan Kohl, 2008.

Iran National Bank, Ferdowsi Street, Tehran, Iran, early 20^th century. Photograph by Sahar Hosseini, 2013.

Louis Sullivan and George Grant Elmslie, National Farmers Bank, Owatonna, Minnesota, 1906-08. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2018.

Attributed to Paul Bell Chambers and Louis Thomas Newberry, Banco de Boston (First National Bank of Boston), San Nicolas neighborhood, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1922-24. Portico made of Indiana limestone with bronze entrance doors. Photograph by Caroline “Olivia” Wolf, 2013.

Sir Norman Robert Foster, HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) headquarters, Hong Kong, China, 1985, detail of upper levels in evening. Photograph by Janet Borland, 2011.

Terry Farrell & Company, Vattanac Capital Banking Tower, Phnum Pénh, Cambodia, 2009-2014. Photograph by Jackie Spafford, 2014.

Martin Elsässer, Coop Himmelblau, Wolf D. Prix, Europäische Zentralbank (European Central Bank), Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany; original structure, the Grossmarkthalle, by Elsässer; enlargement by Coop Himmelblau completed in 2014. Photograph by Mark Hinchman, 2018.