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The Professional Building (originally 'The City Bank Building') in the Historic District of Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, was designed by local architect Edward Bates Franzheim and completed in 1892. Upon its completion and for several decades after, the building was widely regarded in Wheeling as the "finest office building in the City." It is one of two extant buildings in Wheeling designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style; a third was demolished in 1983. All three such buildings were designed by Franzheim.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as a contributing structure in the Wheeling Historic District in 19__.

City Bank of Wheeling
The City Bank of Wheeling was chartered in 1870 and initially opened its doors at 1316 Market Street in Wheeling. In 1885, Wheeling businessman Henry K. List and his son, Ambrose, acquired a controlling interest in the bank. List had made his money in the wholesale grocery business, and by 1880, was the 2nd wealthiest person in Wheeling. On November 25, 1889, the City Bank purchased a building and parcel of land situated at 1300 Market Street from Hannibal Forbes and Amanda B. Forbes for the price of $20,000. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer reported the sale as follows:

"The activity in real estate which has been so marked in this city for the past two or three months, shows no apparent sign of a let up. Mention was made in yesterday's issue of the sale by Hannibal Forbes to the City Bank of the Bailey building at the corner of Market street and Alley 9. The sale was made through the well known real estate firm of Rinehart & Tatum, and the price paid was $20,000.  The property fronts 33 feet on Market street, and the price paid is considered quite a fair one.  The understanding is that as soon as the City Bank's lease on its present quarters expires it will remodel the lower part of the Baily (sic) building into a banking house."

At some point thereafter, the bank decided against remodeling the Bailey Building then situate at 1300 Market Street and began planning the construction of a new building to both house the City Bank's operations and rent out commercial space to other area businesses.

List would continue to serve as the President of the City Bank until his death in 1900 at the age of 78. His obituary in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer described List as a "self-made man, who, early in life, by his own unaided efforts secured sufficient capital to enter business for himself, since which his business career has been one of remarkable success." It went on to describe the City Bank as "one of the city's leading financial institutions, and whose imposing stone front structure on Market street is one of the architectural beauty-spots of Wheeling." The governor of West Virginia said this of him:

"My acquaintance with him covers a quarter of a century, and I can say candidly that I never knew a more honorable, conscientious, manly man. His sympathy for the weak and helpless was unbounded. His purse was large, but his heart was larger still.  ...No man in Wheeling will be more generally missed and his death will therefore be universally deplored.  He had no enemies and all who knew him were his friends.  Along with the thousands of our people I feel that my best friend is gone.""



Architect
Henry List hired the local architect Edward Bates Franzheim to design what would become The City Bank Building at 1300 Market Street. Franzheim, a Wheeling native, was born on July 20, 1866 and attended the Linsly Military Institute in Wheeling. When still a teenager, Franzheim moved to Boston, Massachusetts to attend classes at Chauncy Hall, a preparatory school for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after which he remained in Boston to study under the noted architect John Hubbard Sturgis. Franzheim then studied abroad in Europe before returning to Wheeling in 1890 to open an office.

In a history of Wheeling published in 1902, Franzheim was touted as "probably the most successful and best known architect in the state of West Virginia." It was further noted that Franzheim "does all classes of architectural work and has designed many of the most elaborate residences and buildings in Wheeling." Upon the completion of the exterior work on The City Bank Building in 1891, the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer observed as follows:

"Mr. Edward B. Franzheim, the architect who designed the building, is comparatively a young man and has every reason to be proud of his work, as the house placed him in the rank of the leading architects of the country."

Aside from The City Bank Building, Franzheim designed two other Richardsonian Romanesque buildings in Wheeling: (1) the Bank of Wheeling building, also completed in 1892, situated at 1229 Main Street (and which was demolished in 1983) ; and (2) the Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church, completed in 1896, situated at 905 National Road.

Construction
Work began on The City Bank Building on DATE

On March 31, 1891, The City Bank awarded the contract for the ornamental granite façade of the building to Rinehalter & Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The granite façade was installed by Rinehalter & Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which, according to the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, had a “national reputation” at the time. The pressed-brick masonry of the building was installed under the supervision of local mason Charles P. Hamilton. And accordingly to at least one other newspaper account, Patrick J. Gilligan undertook other aspects of the building’s construction.

Upon its completion, the building was Wheeling's tallest and was described as the "tallest business building" in the State of West Virginia.

Commenced in 1891 Opened for business in October 1892 Total cost: $80,000 600 tons of Maine granite installed in front façade Construction celebrated locally

On July 31, 1891, the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer ran the following update:

"It was intended to begin the work of placing the granite blocks in the front of the new City Bank building yesterday, but the derrick provided was not powerful enough to lift the first huge stone attached to it. Yesterday a large solid mass of granite for this wall was unloaded from the Baltimore & Ohio cars in the old Hempfield Yard. It weighs eleven tons."

In an August 20, 1891 story, the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer described progress on the construction of the building as follows:

"The New City Bank

The Imposing Proportions of the Granite Structure now in Progress of Construction.

Work on the new City bank building on Market Street is progressing rapidly, and now that the first story is almost finished, passers-by can form some idea of the magnitude of what the six story edifice will look like. The front will be of Fox Island granite, quarried on Fox Island, sixteen miles northeast of Rockland, Me. The texture, strength and softness of tone of this granite has gained for it a high reputation, making the demand for it something remarkable. The large polished columns now in place are quarried on Jonesboro Island, which lies bout one hundred miles north of Fox Island.

Mr. R. F. Reinhardt, a member of the firm of P. Rinehalter & Co., lessees of these two islands, is in the city and will remain for some time to see that everything is satisfactory. To one unacquainted with the intricacies of building the figures estimated the weight of the granite front alone, given by Mr. Reinhardt, will cause astonishment. The weight of the granite on the first story alone is 140 tons, while that of the whole front is six stories is over 600 tons. The polished columns alone weigh nine tons, and two pieces of granite yet to be placed on the first story weigh eleven tons each. The building when completed will present a more handsome appearance than any building in Pittsburgh, although it will not compete in size. It will contain twenty-five office rooms.

The firm furnishing this granite has a national reputation. It is now building a mausoleum for Emma Abbott, the noted opera singer who died last year. The cost is to be $50,000, and it will be the finest individual monument ever built. Mr. Reinhardt designed it."

In a November 12, 1891 story, the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer described the completion of construction of the building as follows:

"Wheeling's Tallest

Its Cap Stone Placed Yesterday: Something about the Highest and Finest Granite Front in the State. The Details of the Complete Structure, which is a Credit to the city and State.

Yesterday the cap stone was adjusted which completes the handsome front of the tallest business building in the State of West Virginia. For months past Market street at the corner of Thirteenth has been the scene of constant activity, where crowds have congregated every day, busily engaged in watching the interesting work of elevating the immense pieces of granite used in the extremely handsome front of the new City Bank building. These varied from eleven tons down to a small block weighing but a few hundred pounds.

The extreme height from the pavement to the apex, which is in the form of a conventionalized fleur-de-lis, is 125 feet. The front, which is built in the Romanesque style, is of gray granite from the quarries of Maine, profusely carved. The ground floor is handsomely ornamented by big pillars of polished Johnsbury granite, the whole being very massive and imposing in effect.

Messrs. Reinhalter & Co., the contractors, have spared no pains to make this the finest front in the state, this being their first contract in Wheeling. There will be twenty-six rooms, exclusive of the banking room on the first floor. These will be reached by a rapid Otis hydraulic elevator, and will be devoted to general office purposes. All will be finished in Georgia pine, in natural finish, with stationary washstands, hot and cold water. The water will be drawn from an artesian well underneath the building. On every floor will be lavatories. The banking room on the first floor will be finished in hard wood, with handsomely carved fixtures. The main entrance hall to this room and the upper stories, will be lined with marble wainscoting.

Broad steps will lead up to the large swinging doors, ornamented with antique bronze and trimming of the very latest style of art hardware.

The sides are built of pressed brick. The work was done under the supervision of Mr. Carl Hamilton. Every part of the building is constructed on the slow burning process, the joists all being very heavy and far apart, which makes the best of fire-proofs, in spite of all the devices so loudly praised in the East. The entire building will be heated by steam and lighted by electricity. Heavy plate glass will be used exclusivity.

The roof, which will be highly ornamented, will be finished in Spanish tiling.

The entire cost will be about $80,000. Mr. Edward B. Franzheim, the architect who designed the building, is comparatively a young man and has every reason to be proud of his work, as the house placed him in the rank of the leading architects of the country.

The building, by the way, will be the first to use the Bostwick fire-proof steel laths made by the Wheeling company."

On March 17, 1892, the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer ran the following update on the installation of the Otis elevator in the new City Bank Building:

"The Otis elevator, in the new City Bank building, put in by W. B. Richards, was tested yesterday, and worked to the satisfaction of the owners of the building. It is worked by an artesian well, entirely independent of the city water works. The test was quite severe for the first move, but the machinery worked most satisfactorily.  A number of guests, who had been invited to enjoy the trip, also took in the complete arrangements of the building.  This structure is a monument to Mr. Henry K. List's loyalty to Wheeling, and the pride of its citizens."

Opening
When erected in 1892, the building was the tallest in Wheeling at 125 ft. (and according to some accounts the tallest in the entire state). Contemporary newspaper and city directory accounts referred to it as the “finest office building in the city.” It was constructed during a period of strong economic growth in the Ohio Valley. It was built by The City Bank of Wheeling to house its banking lobby and offices on the 1st floor, and the remaining five floors were rented out to local businesses. In 1892, Henry K. List was the President of the City Bank. Mr. List was arguably Wheeling’s most famous (and wealthy) citizen of the late 19th Century. Contemporary newspaper accounts of the building’s construction described crowds gathering on Market Street watching the massive granite stones being lifted into place.

On October 7, 1892, the City Bank of Wheeling ran the following announcement in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer:

"The public is respectfully invited to visit the new banking room, which will be opened for visitors afternoon and evening of Saturday, October 8, in the City Bank Building. Many, if not all, of the rooms on the upper floors will be open at the same time for inspection. The City Bank of Wheeling will be open for business at 1300 Market Street Monday, October 10."

On October 11, 1892, the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer ran a follow-up story describing the open house:

"All day yesterday the rush of visitors to inspect the new City Bank building was kept up. Scarcely a person passed who did not stop to admire the stately building of granite and the spacious business room and convenient hall. Few banks in the largest cities can boast of as fine quarters, and visitors from everywhere are loud in their praise of this elegant business building."

Aside from The City Bank of Wheeling itself, the building also originally housed the following tenants:


 * National Life Ins. Co. of Vermont


 * The Jefferson a Insurance Co. of Wheeling


 * Rinehart & Tatum (real estate brokers)


 * Junction Iron and Steel Co.


 * Fostoria Glass Company


 * Olive Hill Fire Brick Co.


 * Lewis and Hazlett (commodity brokers)


 * Brown and Hazlett (design engineers)


 * Warwick China and Co.

1896 Tenant Registry

 * Room 1:  National Life Ins. Co. Of Vermont, J. S. Milligan, General agent


 * Rooms 2 & 3: Jefferson Insurance Co. Of Wheeling, Dr. R. W. Hazlett, president. John D. Culbertson, VP.


 * Room 4: D. C. List, Jr.


 * Room 5: Thomas H. Norton, private banker


 * Room 6: Rinehart & Tatum ( Walter H. Rinehart and Peebles Tatum), real estate agents, stock and loan brokers


 * Room 7: Junction Iron and Steel Co., M. J. Urquhart, president, George A. Dean, secretary,


 * Room 8: Dr.  Charles E. Mason, surgeon dentist


 * Room 9: Olive Hill Fire Brick Co., George H. Parks, secretary and treasurer


 * Rooms 11 & 12: Fostoria glass company


 * Room 13: Lewis and Hazlett, (Thomas E. Lewis and Edward Hazlett), brokers, and dealers in mill supplies


 * Room 14: Standard Fire Insurance Co. of Wheeling, William Ellingham, President, C. A. Schaefer, VP


 * Room 15: L. G. Hallock and Co., general contractors


 * Rooms 16 & 17: Brown and Hazlett, (Giomor Brown, Robert Hazlett), designing and constructing engineers


 * Room 18: Hoge W. V. & Bro.  (W. V. Hoge and brother), real estate agents, stock and loan brokers


 * Room 20: Warwick China and Co., Thomas Carr, president


 * Rooms 21 & 22: Riverside Glass  Works, D. W. Baird, pres, J. W. Ratcliffe, secretary. Manufacturers of tableware, bar goods


 * Room 23: Assistant General Freight Agent of Wheeling and Lake Erie, J. F. Townsend

In 1918, The City Bank was merged with and into The Dollar Savings & Trust Company, which was later merged to form Wheeling Dollar Savings & Trust Company (the corporate predecessor to WesBanco Bank, Inc. today).

Following the merger of The City Bank of Wheeling, the 1st floor banking room was occupied by Masten A E & Company, a stock- and bond-trading firm that was a member of the New York Stock Exchange. According to some accounts (that I am trying to verify), the 1st floor of the building may have temporarily housed the Wheeling Stock Exchange, which was in operation from 1914 to 1965.

Architectural Significance
The building represents a classic example of the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style popular in the late 19th Century. Along with Vance Memorial Church in Woodsdale (also designed by Edward Bates Franzheim), it is one of only two such structures remaining in Wheeling today. Its impressive front façade consists of an estimated 600 tons of granite shipped from Maine and is arranged with multiple round-headed Romanesque arches, a recessed entrance, and a cylindrical turret and spire. All of the building’s windows are original with the exception of those on the 4th floor front, which were replaced with glass block in the 1950s. The roof was originally topped with Spanish tiles but is now covered in red shingles.

Ownership History
The City Bank of Wheeling, which had purchased the parcel at 1300 Market Street in 1889, owned the building from its construction in 1891 through October 10, 1918, when it was conveyed to the Dollar Savings and Trust Company of Wheeling (which had acquired the City Bank of Wheeling). Since that time, the building changed ownership multiple times, as follows:


 * On July 1, 1919, conveyed by Dollar Savings and Trust Company to the City Bank Building Company;


 * On March 20, 1934, conveyed by J. T. McCamic, Trustee, in bankruptcy for City Bank Building Company to Investment Building Co.;


 * On April 1, 1947, conveyed by Investment Building Co. to N. K. Joseph and Wilda S. Joseph;


 * On January 22, 1948, conveyed by N. K. Joseph and Wilda S. Joseph to Joseph, Inc.;


 * On December 31, 1982, conveyed by Joseph, Inc. to Robert L. Joseph and Cheryl Riggs Joseph;


 * On October 4, 1989, conveyed by Robert L. Joseph and Cheryl Riggs Joseph to Robert L. Joseph; and


 * On September 16, 2013, conveyed by Robert J. Joseph to Market Street Now, LLC.

In 1948, Dr. Nime K. Joseph purchased the building and eventually moved his ophthalmology practice inside, and the building eventually came to house a variety of dentists and doctors, including Dr. Robert L. Joseph, Nime’s son, who acquired the building in 1982. The building housed Robert’s ophthalmology practice until January 2013 when he retired.

Current Use
Following its acquisition on September 16, 2013, Market Street Now, LLC managing member Glenn Elliott

Gallery




General sources

 * City of Wheeling, West Virginia Official Site
 * Wheeling Convention and Visitor's Bureau
 * Wheeling National Heritage Area
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