“Updated plans have been revealed for the adaptive reuse of the Mid-City Trust & Savings Bank at 801 W Madison Street in the West Loop. Located on the intersection with N. Halsted Street on the northern boundary of Greektown, the proposal has just received approval from the Permit Review Committee this week. Developer ECG Madison LLC is working with Pappageorge Haymes Partners on the curated design.

“Built in 1912 for Mid-City Trust & Savings Bank by architect Horatio R Wilson, the six-story building went through a slight renovation in 1928 prior to the Great Depression which gave us the current design for the bottom two floors. Though those floors occupy the whole site, the upper four take on an L-shape wrapping around large central skylights for the previous bank below. While the bank eventually merged with MB Financial, the building’s interior remains the same.

“Given the history tying it back to a golden-age of neighborhood banks and its designation as a city landmark, the development team is proposing heavy restoration work in order to turn the structure into a new hotel. Said work will begin with the repair and cleaning of the red-brick facade and ground-floor limestone with its ornate arched windows, the upper floors will receive new windows as needed as well as have its parapet repaired.

“A new entrance will also be opened along an existing door on Madison Street, with a new canopy above it serving as the hotel’s main entrance. The rest of the ground floor will continue to act as a commercial space utilizing the original entrances, with the aforementioned skylights being refurbished and a new ceiling installed. Additional elevators will also be built-in as well as a new mural proposed on the western elevation on top of the common brick.” (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 10/12/23)

The Former Mid-City National Bank Building was designed by architect, Horatio R. Wilson in 1911-1912, and later remodeled and expanded in 1928, by the architectural firm of Perkins, Fellows and Hamilton. The 1928 remodeling included a reconstructed first-and second-story façade, with a Classical revival-style arcade of large arched openings, clad in limestone. The revisioning and expansion of the building also included a much enlarged banking room on the first floor interior, which replaced a former theater, originally located directly behind the bank building.

In the early 2000s, a group of neighborhood bank buildings throughout Chicago were considered for designation. The initial list included seven bank buildings and in the years following the list grew. In 2007, 13 bank buildings throughout the city representing different communities and styles were given Chicago Landmark Designation.

The Mid-City National Bank was given a Chicago Landmark Designation in 2012. With this designation the Mid-City National Bank Building was the beneficiary of the expanded and revised Adopt-A-Landmarks program, though a grant offer by the City of Chicago. This resulted with funding for the recreation of the original cornice design which was restored after being lost for decades. The building’s cornice was recreated with glass reinforced concrete-GRFC with this City grant and extends 133’ along Halsted and 126’ along Madison Street, giving the structure a highly finished appearance and restoring the 1928 design.

For reference, the 13 banks designated in 2007, included:

• Belmont-Sheffield Trust and Savings Bank, (architect, John Nyden & Co. 1928-1929), 1001 W. Belmont
• Fullerton State Bank, (Karl M. Vitzthum, 1923), 1425 W. Fullerton
• Marquette Park State Bank, (Karl Vitzthum, 1924), 6314 S. Western Avenue;
• Cosmopolitan State Bank, (Schmidt, Garden & Martin, 1920), 801 N. Clark Street;
• South Side Trust and Savings, (Albert Schwartz, 1922) 4659 S. Cottage Grove Avenue
• Kimbell Trust and Savings Bank, (William Gibbons Uffendell, 1924) 3600 W. Fullerton Avenue.
• Calumet National Bank, (John A. Domickson, 1910), 9117 S. Commercial Avenue
• Sheridan Trust and Savings Bank, (Marshall & Fox, 1924 and Huszagh & Hill, 1928), 4753 N. Broadway
• Chicago City Bank and Trust, (Abraham Epstein, 1930), 815 W. 63rd Street,
• Marshfield Trust and Savings, (William Gibbons Uffendell), 3321 N. Lincoln Avenue
• Stock Yards National Bank, (Abraham Epstein, 1924), 4150 S. Halsted Street
• Hyde Park-Kenwood National Bank, (Karl Vitzthum) 1525 E. 53rd Street
• Swedish American State Bank, (Ottenheimer, Stern & Reichert, 1913), at 5400 N. Clark Street.

The Laramie State Bank was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1995, followed by the Noel State Bank in 2007, the Pioneer Bank in 2012, along with the Mid-City Bank in 2012. Additionally both the Laramie State Bank and the Pioneer State Bank are both to be restored and repurposed as part of larger developments, inspired by the INVEST South/West programs, developed under Mayor Lightfoot administration, with Commissioner Maurice Cox and under the City’s Department of Planning and Development.

Preservation Chicago has been a longtime advocate for many of the Chicago Landmark bank buildings. We applaud The Neighborhood Hotel group and are thrilled to see the Mid-City Bank Building adaptively reused after so many years of vacancy.

Read the full story at Chicago YIMBY

• Further Details Revealed For Redevelopment Of Mid-City Bank In West Loop, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 10/12/23
• Apartment-style hotel planned for West Loop landmark; The historic—and long-vacant—Mid-City Trust & Savings Bank building is poised to be transformed into 80 units, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 10/5/22
• Mid-City Trust and Savings Bank Chicago Landmark Designation Report February 2, 2012
• Neighborhood Bank Buildings Chicago Landmark Designation Report December 2007 (Part 1)
• Neighborhood Bank Buildings Chicago Landmark Designation Report December 2007 (Part 2)