113 East Tennessee Street
The building at this location dates to c.1890 and was first a shoe shop and women's hat shop. By 1899, the Bank occupied the first floor and professional offices occupied the second. The building at this time was a two-story, brick building in a standard commercial style. Around 1915, the Bank updated the building, adding the present-day limestone facade in a Neoclassical Revival style to the front of the building. The facade features nearly full-height pilasters with Doric capitals and the "Tennessee Valley Bank" name etched into the stone across the top.
Prior to 1930, most American banks were designed in the classical style. These often large, stone structures symbolized financial stability and integrity at a time when bank owners and boards needed the trust of local depositors. Bank buildings, like those of the Tennessee Valley Bank, Alabama Trust and Savings Bank, and the larger First National Bank of Florence, were centerpieces of the downtown commercial core.
In later years, banks lead the way architecturally. Hoping to project an image of progress, technological advancement, and continued stability, many banks of the mid-twentieth century favored more modern over traditional styles. The 1950s facade on the First National Bank of Florence building and First Southern Bank, now the City-County Government building, are good examples of this trend locally.
Trousdale Ryan Attorneys at Law own and occupy the Tennessee Valley Bank building today.