Empire National Bank Building

Empire National Bank Building
Seven-story brownstone and brick building viewed from a street corner
Empire National Bank Building in 2018
LocationWest Main and Fourth streets
Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S.
Built1907
ArchitectHolmboe & Lafferty
Architectural styleRenaissance Revival
Part ofClarksburg Downtown Historic District (ID82004794)
Designated CPApril 12, 1982[1]

The Empire National Bank Building is a seven-story commercial building in downtown Clarksburg, West Virginia.[2] It was designed by the architectural firm Holmboe & Lafferty and completed in 1907 for Empire National Bank, whose president, Virgil L. Highland, commissioned the building.[3] The building is part of the Clarksburg Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2][4] Its site at the acute-angled intersection of West Main and Fourth streets gives the Renaissance Revival building a flatiron-shaped plan. The steel frame is faced with brownstone on the first two stories and brick above.[3][2]

History

Empire National Bank was organized in 1903 by Virgil L. Highland, its founder and first president.[2] It initially operated from the Oak Hall Building on West Main Street and moved into the Empire Building on February 14, 1907.[5] The building was constructed in 1906 and 1907 on the former site of the Oliver Boughner Store at a cost of $100,000.[2][6]

The Clarksburg Telegram was printed in the building's basement, while its editorial offices were on Fourth Street.[5] The Telegram Company moved from the Empire Building to Hewes Avenue in 1927 after acquiring the Clarksburg Publishing Company.[7] The building's interior was renovated in 1953.[8]

In 1994, the bank was renamed One Valley Bank of Clarksburg, National Association. It merged into One Valley Bank, Inc., in 1998.[9] MVB Bank opened a downtown Clarksburg branch in the Empire Building during the fourth quarter of 2012.[10]

On August 25, 2023, the building was sold at auction to Geremey Engle, a partner in Nesting Owl LLC. The winning bid was $220,000, and a 5 percent auction premium brought the total price to $231,000.[6]

Design

The Renaissance Revival building was designed by the architectural firm Holmboe & Lafferty.[3][2] Its seven-story steel frame is faced with rusticated brownstone on the first two stories and brown brick above. A prominent cornice with oversized brackets crowns the building.[3]

West Main and Fourth streets intersect at an acute angle, giving the building a flatiron- or trapezoid-shaped footprint. The rounded corner contains the bank entrance at street level, while the office entrance occupies the last bay along Fourth Street. Both entrances have white terra-cotta Corinthian frontispieces topped by female busts.[3] Architectural historian S. Allen Chambers Jr. described the building as "a surprisingly exuberant design" compared with the firm's usually more conservative work.[3]

At the time of the building's 2023 auction, its interior retained an original spiral staircase, elevators, and details in the lobby. It was reported to contain approximately 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2) of floor space, including offices, storage rooms, lounges, libraries, and conference rooms.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Spreadsheet of NRHP Listed properties" (XLSX). National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pauley, Michael J. (February 17, 1982). National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Clarksburg Downtown Historic District (PDF) (Report). West Virginia Department of Culture and History. pp. 1, 5–6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chambers, S. Allen Jr. "One Valley Bank (Empire Bank Building)". SAH Archipedia. University of Virginia Press.
  4. ↑ "Clarksburg Downtown Historic District". NPGallery. National Park Service. NRIS 82004794.
  5. 1 2 "Empire National Bank Building". Clio. Clio Foundation.
  6. 1 2 Phillips, Damian (August 25, 2023). "Historic Clarksburg, West Virginia, bank sold at auction, well under appraised value". The Exponent Telegram.
  7. ↑ Swick, Gerald D. (August 26, 2025). "Clarksburg Exponent Telegram". e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. West Virginia Humanities Council.
  8. ↑ "Historic Sites". Come Home to Clarksburg. Clarksburg Visitors Bureau.
  9. ↑ "One Valley Bank of Clarksburg, National Association". BankFind Suite. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. FDIC certificate 6756.
  10. ↑ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2013 (Report). MVB Financial Corp. March 28, 2014 – via U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  11. ↑ Kirk, Sam (August 24, 2023). "Want to own a historic 7-story building in downtown Clarksburg? Now's your chance". WBOY-TV.
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