Northampton Architecture- Quadrant 1

First National Bank (Silverscape Building)

The First National Bank Building (now Silverscape Building), located at 1 King Street, was built in 1928. Architect J. Williams Beals & Sons designed the building in the Art Moderne style.

The Art Moderne or Art Deco style derived from the 1925 Paris Exposition of "Arts Decoratifs."The magnificent bronze and marble work and stained glass of the interior follows the same pattern of stylized natural forms. Typical of the Art Deco approach to design is the geometric character of the ornament and the fact that the carving does not project from the surface but rather is cut back into the stone so that one has a self-contained, rather cubic outer mass. The interiors include many original fixtures and a stained glass skylight.

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