One of the most important buildings on South Carolina’s oldest commercial street, the South Carolina National Bank building was built in 1817 as the Office of Discount and Deposit of the Second Bank of the United States. The bank was the only bank equipped to provide international banking services, which enabled the transfer of South Carolina rice and cotton to European markets. President Andrew Jackson later withdrew all government deposits, thereby destroying the bank. In 1836, when the Office of Discount and Deposit was liquidated, the Bank of Charleston purchased the building.
The bank’s exterior walls are masonry covered with stucco. Its roof is pitched with gables and a heavily molded cornice at the northern and southern ends. The south or main façade is divided into three bays with shallow recesses. A large gold leaf eagle adorns the gable and is the original 1817 ornament. All first floor windows have semicircular heads. In 1855 the bank purchased the building to the east. In 1856 the original building was extended to the north. The Board of Directors’ Room, an architectural masterpiece, was added in 1856 and is believed to have been designed by Edward C. Jones, a well-known Charleston architect of the period.
In 1959, a three-story addition with drive-through windows was added to the north side of the building, extending parallel to State Street. The addition was designed by Cummings & McCrady.
The bank was listed in the National Register June 4, 1973.
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