The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York

The Bank for Savings in the City of New York (1819–1982) was the first savings bank in New York City until it was merged with the Buffalo Savings Bank in 1982.[1] It was one of the earliest-opened banks in the United States, becoming an official bank in 1819.

History

The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York was the fourth bank to be opened in the United States and the first savings bank in Manhattan.[2] It was founded in 1816, although it was not incorporated by the NY State Legislature until March 16, 1819.[3] First publicly advertised as "A BANK FOR THE POOR", it was modeled after similar institutions in Europe; its stated purpose was to "effect a secure place of deposit for the earnings of the laboring part of the community: and at the same time to give them the benefit of an accumulation of interest". " One of the bank's founders, Thomas Eddy, further explained the charitable impetus behind the entity's formation, "Among the many philanthropic institutions with which your country abounds, there is none that appears to me more likely to be useful than Savings Banks. They are certainly most admirably calculated to be beneficial to the poor, by promoting among them a spirit of independence, economy and industry." [4]

The bank's first location was at Chambers Street. The site became equally famous for being the venue where the first Egyptian mummy was displayed in the United States in 1824. [1] The bank then moved to Bleecker Street (April 10, 1856), at which time it became familiarly called the Bleecker Street Savings Bank.[2][5][6]

During the Civil War, the bank was reputed to be a bellwether of the nation's prosperity with the bank holding over eleven million dollars but also boasting the largest number of depositors from the working class in New York State. [7] Following a fire that badly damaged the building, the bank moved from Bleecker to 280 Fourth Avenue at Twenty-second Street on August 15, 1894.[6] A large white marble Romanesque structure was designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz.[8] Later headquarters were located on Park Avenue South.

Notable Directors

Among its founders and first directors were Thomas Eddy, William Bayard Jr., DeWitt Clinton, Archibald Gracie, Cadwallader D. Colden, John Pintard, Matthew Clarkson, Peter Augustus Jay and Brockholst Livingston. Although many credit Eddy with founding the institution, Bayard, who was also a director of the Bank of America founded by Amadeo Giannini, served as the bank's first president.[9][2] Other famous directors included Frederic James de Peyster, a prominent soldier and philanthropist [10] as well as politician Hamilton Fish who stepped down from the board when he became US Secretary of State. [6]

Demise

It later merged with the Buffalo Savings Bank in 1982 and its name was subsequently changed to Goldome.[11][12] It failed in 1991 along with a number of other banks. The bank is no longer in existence today.[13]

References
  1. Jenkins, Stephen (1911). The Greatest Street in the World: The Story of Broadway, Old and New, from the Bowling Green to Albany. New York: Putnam. p. 48.
  2. "MERRITT TRIMBLE, BANKER, IS DEAD, Was President of the Bank for Savings and a Noted Financier". New York: New York Herald. February 13, 1903.
  3. Jaremski, Matthew & Plastaras, Brady (2015). "An In-depth Analysis of New England Mutual Savings Banks, 1870–1914". Economics Faculty Working Papers. Paper 44.
  4. Emerson W. Keyes (1876). A History of Savings Banks in the United States from their Inception in 1816 down to 1874. With discussions of their theory, practical workings and incidents, present condition and prospective development. Bradford Rhodes. p. 309.
  5. "The Lost Bleecker Street Savings Bank - 67 Bleecker Street". Daytonian in Manhattan. July 3, 2017.
  6. "Big Crowd, Few Police". New York: New York Herald. November 6, 1895.
  7. "Laboring Classes". New York: Long Island Farmer. May 31, 1864.
  8. "BUILDING ON FOURTH AVENUE, Marked Change in the Thoroughfare's Character, The New Bank for Savings and Other Features of the Movement". New York: The Herald. February 12, 1894.
  9. Knowles, Charles (1936). History of the Bank for Savings in the City of New York.
  10. "Personal". New York: Buffalo Daily Courier. June 16, 1874.
  11. US Bank Locations. "The New York Bank for Savings". Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  12. "Bank Remnants". Forgotten New York. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  13. Comoletti, Jill. "The Beautiful, Ornate Bank Buildings Of Old New York". Business Insider. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
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