The Bank on Stony Island
(photos by Lee Bey)
The old Guaranty Bank & Trust building hasn't housed a commercial transaction--not a legal one, anyway--since it closed a quarter century ago. The vacant building occupies a prime corner on the edge of Jackson Park and yet has eluded demolition and reuse.
Located at 6760 S. Stony Island, the old bank is a fantastic urban ruin--part of a dying breed of neo-classical neighborhood banks that were half-scale versions of their prestigious downtown counterparts. Guaranty greets Stony Island with a quartet of 30-foot tall Doric columns capted with an impressively detailed entablature. Swag elements around the windows and cornice remain intact.
(Above) A look at the bank's richly detailed column...in remarkably good condition.
The bank was built in 1923 as Stony Island Trust & Savings. The original plan was for an eight-story building with two floors of banking and six levels of furnished apartments, but the design was pared down. During its life, the bank nearly closed a half-dozen times and took on new names at every turn, becoming Stony Island State Savings in 1930, Southmoor Bank & Trust in 1948 (look closely and you can still see the "Southmoor" name above the columns) then becoming Guaranty Bank in 1950. The Nation of Islam bought the bank in 1973, but operations shut down in 1982. The gracious old building became just another abandoned structure in the Woodlawn community.
But for how much longer, I wonder? Money is flowing in the Woodlawn again. There are new homes and Stony Island seems to be slowly reawakening. Now is the time to investigate preserving this building. Perhaps it won't be a bank again, but the building might have a future as residences, as originally planned. A new scheme could include a well-designed parking structure with ground-floor retail that would be built on the vacant parcel to the north of the building. The facility would providing a place for residents' cars while giving a commercial boost to the street.
(Above) No deposit, no return: the bank's old depository slot
The neighborhood and the city would do well to at least consider preservation. With Woodlawn on the upswing, something is bound to happen to the building. Will it be a new beginning, or a bitter end?
Comments
Lee,
recycling old posts from Lee Bey dot com version 1? That's ok. I liked this one particularly.
In any case it is a great looking building. About 60 feet wide. Hopefully fairly deep. Could eventually make some nice condos. Although "Stony Island" and condo seems to be an oxymoron.
Of course if you look at the changes going on in Woodlawn and points north nothing may not be out of the question.
Posted by: irishpirate | July 16, 2007 02:23 PM
Hey Pirate! This is a sustainable column..which means I can sustain it if I recycle from the old one! LOL! And you're right about Woodlawn...the changes there could make almost anything possible now.
Posted by: UrbanObserver | July 16, 2007 02:46 PM
Everytime I drive down to my fiance parents' house I pass by this building and often times have had the mirage of "what ifs" in terms of its reuse..Im not familiar with the Woodlawn community so Im not sure what else is happening there but the thoughts have crept up as to why Stony Island isnt/wouldnt become more developed seeing as its a pretty trafficked thoroughfare and now, the gleaming escape from the calamity of the Dan Ryan construction... well there are the strip malls further south on it! And boy isnt that a start! =)
Posted by: Paulina | July 17, 2007 08:52 AM
Paulina..you are so correct about the potential of Stony Island. As it is now, its a giant on-ramp for the Bishop Ford Expressway to the south and for Lake Shore Drive to the north. I bet the Starbucks at 71st generates more traffic than any other store on the entire strip. It could be a great thoroughfare, given a push.
Posted by: UrbanObserver | July 17, 2007 09:01 AM
I have tried to get in to photograph this place a few times. It is always sealed tight. However, if you peek in through that front door, you will see it has become a home for stray cats.... a lot of stray cats!!
Does anyone know the history of the hotel that was just north of this location?
Posted by: Chuck | July 31, 2007 02:05 PM
Wow. I just stumbled along your site. I am a fourth year architecture student at UIUC and a resident in a surrounding area. I have been looking at that building for sometime visually planning it out in my mind. Also the potential of the are is endless. I had also been looking at the hospital further north. U of C is supposed to convert it into a hotel. It is indeed a growing area. Just very, very slowly.
Posted by: Leeswann Bolden | September 23, 2007 06:29 PM
Regarding Chuck's question about the hotel just north of the bank on Stony Island: I think you're referring to the Southmoor Hotel, which was where the Chase Bank branch now stands on 67th and Stony. I think it became HQ for the Blackstone Rangers just before it was demolished.
Posted by: Mike | December 12, 2007 04:33 PM
Perhaps Chuck was referring not to the Southmoor at 67th St. but to the building which occupied the SW corner of 67th Place and Stony. (See links below for photos.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86125374@N00/2250806724
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86125374@N00/2250806560
Posted by: kneejerk![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://leebey.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 9, 2008 03:35 PM
I'd forgotten about that building, kneejerk. I bet you are right.
Posted by: urbanobserver![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://leebey.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 10, 2008 07:05 AM