Imagine the various possibilities for commerce that could occupy a space 75 by 88 feet in the mid-1800s. The signs in this undated photograph indicate the types of businesses which were located in the original Phoenix Bank building on Medina Square. The building burned down in 1870. One person alive in those days described the building by stating, "Phoenix Block...is of brick, three stories high, with a basement under the entire building. The first story is divided into stores, one room of which is occupied by the Phoenix Bank. The second story is mostly offices, while the third story is divided into two large halls, one of them, and an elegant one it is, is used by the Odd Fellows; the other Phoenix Hall, 44 by 88 feet, is a fine theater, well furnished with stage, scenery, etc., and will comfortably seat five hundred persons." Clearly, a lot took place within the walls of this rather ordinary looking building. | Source: Medina County Historical SocietyDownload Original File
Source
Medina County Historical Society
"Phoenix Bank, 1840-1870" appears in: Phoenix Bank
