Restoration of the historic Luzerne Bank Building, the tallest building on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is underway.
Customers don’t mind the mess. “Most of them are excited about it because they want to see the building stay the way it was and they don’t want to see it go downhill and they want to see it preserved,” said Luzerne Bank Manager Susan McHugh.
The building is fourteen stories plus a gabled-roof penthouse (the tallest building in the Wyoming Valley). It was designed in 1928 by the New York architect Bertram Cunynham in conjunction with the firm of McCormick and French of Wilkes-Barre. Construction was completed in 1930.
The building was created in the Neo-Romanesque architectural style, and features a massive fortress-like base with a large entry arch.
Rows of arches and corbelled arches decorate the building above the base and near the top, crowned by a penthouse reminiscent of an Italian villa, complete with red tile roof.
Inside, the lobby ceiling has a decorative relief in the Art Deco style. The bank lobby – five stories high! – is decorated with a beautiful ceiling painted with real gold leaf accents.
Photo credit: maxxbench.com