Antiquity

(Dime Savings Bank) This Beaux-Arts bank opened in 1859 and moved to this headquarters (adjacent to the first subway tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn) in 1908, cementing its prominent status. True to its name, you could open a savings account with just a dime. If you look up closely, all the friezes throughout are dimes. The headquarters at 9 Dekalb Avenue was designed by Mowbray and Uffinger, then enlarged by Halsey, McCormack and Helmer in 1931. The space is a NYC designated landmark. Architectural materials include a white-marble façade with colonnades and a domed roof. The temple form takes shape from the unusual triangle site and is an outstanding example of neo-Classical design. Structurally the building has a concrete foundation and steel girders but is clad in Pentelic marble (widely used in Greek temples). The architects were so faithful to the classical tradition, they intended to follow the classical lines of the Pantheon in Rome in the rotunda. While the building is rooted in classical antiquity, there are also decorative elements of industry and progress such as scenes of the Brooklyn Bridge and a host of skyscrapers near the buildings entrance.