First National Bank, 1206 Eleventh Avenue, Altoona, Blair County, PA

Significance: The second headquarters of a bank established in 1863, the First National Bank of Altoona was described as a "magnificent temple of finance" when it opened in 1926. Architect John A. Dempwolf's monumental, temple-front design well suited Altoona's prosperous commercial streetscape of the 1920s and was frankly intended to evoke the wealth and stability of the Roman imperial era that inspired its form. The bank's Neoclassical exterior is complemented by a virtually unaltered interior featuring two murals depicting a century of progress in the transportation industry.
Survey number: HABS PA-5506
Building/structure dates: 1924- 1925 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1966 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after. 1966- before. 1980 Subsequent Work