Sidney Ohio.  I-75 flyway 35 minutes north of Dayton.  5 minutes off the interstate.  Tremendous Courthouse Square.  Magnificent and under-recognized Sullivan bank.  Perhaps his most mature example of the series.  Fabulously balanced composition on a corner site.  One of the Sullivan biographies indicates that he thought it to be his best.  Second to the last, I believe.  Outstanding state of preservation.  Have I offered enough superlatives yet?
____________________________________

Dan Becker, Exec. Dir., RHDC
Raleigh Historic Districts Commission
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-----Original Message-----
From:   Martin C. Tangora (312) 996-3064 [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   March 1, 1999 5:13 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: "history isn't everywhere"

Robert Buckle was talking about people who don't know where some
building is that they're standing in front of.

A group of us went to Grinnell, Iowa, to see the Sullivan bank.
We pulled off the interstate (designed to bypass the town, and
I guess that's not a bad thing, at least we don't have a semi
hitting the bank) and into a coffee shop where we ate breakfast.

When we asked where the Louis Sullivan bank was, most of the
folks in the place, on either side of the counter, had no idea
what we were talking about.  But one man said, "They mean the
 --- bank," and I confess at the moment I don't remember what the
(corporate) name of the bank was at that time, but he had it right,
and he gave us directions.

Actually you can't miss it!  but we didn't know that yet.

p.s. if you haven't seen it, as Michelin would say, ***
(vaut le voyage).  In other words, don't go to Iowa without
leaving time for an hour in Grinnell: five minutes to find the bank
and fifty-five minutes with your heart pounding.