Memphis Bank and Trust Building Memphis, Tennessee
National Register of Historic Places Data
Memphis Bank and Trust Building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the following information, which has been imported from the National Register database and/or the Nomination Form . Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.
- National Register ID
- 13000502
- Date Listed
- July 17, 2013
- Name
- Memphis Bank and Trust Building
- Other Names
- 44 North Second Street Building
- Part of
- N/A (Multiple Property Submission)
- Address
- 44 N. 2nd St.
- City/Town
- Memphis
- County
- Shelby
- State
- Tennessee
- Category
- building
- Level of Sig.
- local
- Areas of Sig.
- COMMERCE
Description
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
The Memphis Bank and Trust Building (MB&T) is significant in local commerce due to its association with the explosive growth of the installment finance banking during the early 20th century. It was established as a vehicle for local automobile dealers to share in the lucrative returns on consumer financing. MB&T experienced unprecedented growth in the immediate post-World War II years and rapidly became a major local bank, even as they overstepped banking regulations to do so. The Modernist style Memphis Bank and Trust Building played a significant role in recreating the metropolitan area in post-World War II Memphis and is eligible for individual listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A.
