Category:Merchants National Bank, Allentown, Pennsylvania

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The Merchants National Bank of Allentown was organized in 1902. It eventually became Allentown's second-largest bank, slightly smaller than the 1st National Bank.

The bank opened on the first floor of the Allentown YMCA building on the Southwest Corner of Center Square on March 30, 1903. The bank was a success and in 1918, it purchased the Stillwater Building adjacent to the YMCA at the southwest corner. It moved into a brand new bank in September 1921, where it would be for the next 70 years.

During the 1920s, the bank continued to grow and expand. In 1928 it purchased the Citizens Trust Company of Allentown which was organized in 1905. The merged bank was called the Merchants-Citizens National Bank and Trust Company, a name it would use until 1949. In 1935, the bank expanded again by purchasing the former Chronicle and News newspaper building between its own property and the YMCA building. Part of that building was developed to expand the lobby and provide more space for bank departments. At the same time, the main building lobby was redesigned.

The bank opened its first branch in December 1949 at the northeast corner of Ridge avenue and Tilghman Streets, at the time the only bank in that part of Allentown. The Ridge Avenue branch also introduced drive-in tellers and also had a spacious parking lot for customers. This began an expansion program which would last for over the next two decades, making Merchants National Bank the largest banking network at the time, with 16 branches both inside and outside of Allentown in Bethlehem, Coplay, Egypt, Emmaus, Foglesville, Schnecksville, Wescoesville and Whitehall. In 1964, the bank bought several properties adjacent to its main building at 702 Hamilton and expanded its headquarters to over 60,000 square feet, completely remodeling the 1921 bank interior. The expanded main bank opened in the spring of 1969 after several years of construction.

In 1993, Merchants National Bank was acquired by First Fidelity Bank as part of a wave of mergers that swept the banking industry. First Fidelity was then taken over by Fidelity Bank, and then First Union, which was acquired by Wachovia and currently by Wells Fargo since 2010.

In 2019, it was announced that the main banking building at 7th and Hamilton Streets would be incorporated into the NIZ as part of the 1 Center Square complex. This will be a 16 story glass and steel office tower which will demolish the interior of the bank, however preserve the structure's limestone and granite facade which dates back to 1921 of Merchants National Bank.

Camera location40° 36′ 06″ N, 75° 28′ 19″ W Kartographer map based on OpenStreetMap.View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMapinfo

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