Prominently situated opposite the U.S. Treasury, the Riggs National Bank's Classical Revival style had a great influence on the design of other city banks.
Established in 1840 as Corcoran & Riggs by William W. Corcoran (a former official of the Second Bank of the U.S.) and George Washington Riggs (the heir of a New York banking family), the bank purchased many assets of the Second Bank of the U.S. after its failure. It handled numerous federal government transactions, including the financing of the Mexican-American War (1846‑48), early international sales of U.S. bonds, and the Alaska purchase (1868), in addition to financing notable private ventures such as the construction of the first U.S. telegraph line to Baltimore, Maryland. It served many presidents and notables, and also played a major role in addressing the 1933 banking crisis.
The original bank was located at the site of the former home of the Second Bank of the U.S. Upon Corcoran’s retirement in 1854, the bank was renamed Riggs & Co., and it was federally chartered as Riggs National Bank in 1896. Built between 1899 and 1902, this monumental granite bank building is notable for its impressive facade of ionic columns and its lofty skylit banking hall. It was designed by architects York & Sawyer of New York, with an addition designed by Appleton P. Clark, Jr. in the early 1920s.
The Riggs National Bank building, along with the adjacent American Security and Trust Company building, have been restored and rehabilitated and now house the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream. This included the restoration of the laylight seen in the main banking hall, as well as the construction of a new skylight above.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: July 16, 1973
Within Financial Historic District and Lafayette Square Historic District
]]>The American Security Bank was founded in 1889 in Alexandria, Virginia, as a banking and trust firm, with an additional branch in DC. It was the second trust company established in DC and the first to offer a woman’s department. By 1903, business had grown and expanded to this new location on Pennsylvania Avenue NW Construction began in 1904. Designed by architects Edward York (1868-1949) and Philip Sawyer (1863-1928), the Neoclassical exterior closely matches the adjacent Riggs National Bank. The building is constructed of granite ashlar blocks with deep horizontal joints at the corners creating a striped effect. The interior is largely faced in a variety of marbles. In 1931, the interior was remodeled but retained many of the original elements, excluding the removal of a pair of balconies and new openings into the adjoining annex, which formerly contained the bank vaults. MNC Financial purchased American Security Bank in 1987, but continued to operate under the original name. The National Bank purchased MNC Financial in 1993, and later merged with Bank of America, which then occupied the building.
The American Security and Trust Company building, along with the adjacent Riggs National Bank building, have been restored and rehabilitated and now house the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)National Register: July 16, 1973
Within Financial Historic District and Lafayette Square Historic District
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