The Williamburgh Savings Bank

The Williamsburgh Savings Bank at one hundred seventy-five Broadway stands as a relic of the era when this neighborhood was a separate, independent city. When the bank opened its doors in eighteen seventy-five, it was designed to project absolute stability to a working-class population. The architect George B. Post, who later gained fame for the New York Stock Exchange, created an imposing Classical Revival structure that served as a massive, ornate vault for the savings of local laborers, servants, and families who were often excluded from larger financial institutions. Inside, the original banking hall was divided into separate rooms for men and women, reflecting the social customs of the late nineteenth century. The building remains defined by its soaring, polychromed cast-iron dome, which was painted with an intricate, celestial-inspired mural that still survives today.