Winsor and Snover Bank Building - Port Austin, MI - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

The Winsor and Snover Bank Building is located on the southeast corner of the downtown intersection of Lake Street (M-53) and State Street in the Village of Port Austin, Michigan. The two-story, red brick building was wilt in 1884 and reflects a much simplified version of High Victorian Gothic styling. Its major facades face north and west and are delineated by brick piers into three bays each. The entryway is located in a chamfered bay at the northwest corner. Key decorative features include a balanced fenestration of two-over-two, rounded-arch, double-hung sash windows, with lintels made of header tricks and keystones and springblocks of stone, and a decorative brick cornice line including fascia, pier caps, drops, and Gothic-inspired corner pediment. The building's exterior appears as it did at the time of construction. A small, single-story wood structure, built in 1984 on the east facade, is the only contemporary addition. Inside, plaster work and bank fixtures were lost over the years. Remaining wood wainscotting, flooring, and door and window surrounds, however, have been restored and integrated into the decor of the restaurant now housed in the bank.

The Winsor and Stover Bank is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Lake and State streets. The adjoining lot to the south contains a small residence, across the sreet is a convenience store, kitty-corner is a vacant lot, and to the north is a modern, single-story motel complete with swimming pool and children's play park; the setback of the motel allows a clear view of the north elevation of the bank. Most of the older buildings downtown have been remodeled, modernized, or torn down so that the Winsor and Stover Bank is one of the few that still reflect the nineteenth-century commercial flavor of the original town. There are several nineteenth-century residences and hotels south of the bank on Lake Street but not in great enough concentration to warrant an historic district.

The Winsor and Stover Bank was built in 1884, one of the first new structures to be built after the devastating Thumb region fire of 1881. It is a two-story brick building with a dressed fieldstone foundation and basement and flat roof. It measures twenty-seven feet in width and fifty-five feet in length. An inconspiruous, single-story, wood addition on the east facade was built in 1984 and is ten feet by twlenty-five feet in size with a poured concrete foundation; it is used for the restaurant's food storage and delivery entrance. The old septic tank was filled in and the building was connected to the city sewer system in 1984. The original steam heat furnace was installed by Detroit Metal and Plumbing Company. In 1984, a new furnace and air conditioning system was installed. The flat roof was originally of tar paper composite construction, and was last repaired in 1982 using the same tar process. The building's impressive bank vault, manufactured by the Detroit Safe Company, was removed when the bank relocated to another facility.

When Richard Hinsor and Horace G. Snover contracted for construction of their new bank building at a cost of $4,000.00, they selected a very simplified version of High Victorian Gothic styling. There are three entrances including the main entrance at the northwest corner, one on the south end of the west facade which now includes a handicap ramp, and the last on the east end of the north facade. Brick pilasters divide the 'two major facades of the building into seven bays, three on the west elevation, three on the north elevation, and one on the chamfered corner. Next to the entrance is a cornerstone vlith 1884 carved in it; there is also a carved stone above the main entrance that reads "BANK".

-NRHP Nomination Form

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/31/2024 wildernessmama visited it