File:City National Bank Building, Binghamton, New York - 20220724.jpg

English: The City National Bank Building, 49 Court Street at Washington Street, Binghamton, New York, July 2022. The Beaux-Arts pedigree of New York-based architect Alfred Hopkins is plainly in evidence in the High Neoclassical design of this building, typical of banks of its era, which features a façade of smooth-textured limestone dominated by a quartet of monumental engaged Ionic columns recessed between which are a rank of floor-to-ceiling windows and an understated, pedimented main entrance. Similar in design, but with Doric pilaster strips swapped out for the columns, is the side elevation facing Washington Street. Affording a sense of loftiness to balance out the heavy massing elsewhere in the design is the second floor "attic" level above the dentillated cornice, for which the most elaborate ornamentation is reserved. Here are seen such features as relief panels with foliate and shield designs, an engraving detailing the bank's history, and, uniquely positioned as a break in the otherwise flat roofline, a large sculpture of a shield flanked by a pair of eagles. The oldest bank in Binghamton, City National was founded in 1852 and expanded in tune with the economy of the city itself, as it grew in importance as a transportation nexus and manufacturing center. The local press followed the construction of its headquarters closely, particularly the setting in place of the 35-ton monolithic columns that had to be hauled to the site by trolley and raised using thick steel cables. The building was completed in 1928 and served as the headquarters of City National Bank (and its corporate successors, First City National Bank and Lincoln First Bank) until the early 1970s. The building stood vacant for most of that decade but, unlike, most of its neighbors, was spared the wrecking ball and instead renovated and restored, having been used for various purposes since.