Kyle Mills
Kyle Mills
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According to the Broome County Historical Society, the bank was built in 1871 as the Chenango Valley Bank, but the wording above the doorways to the entrance, it's real identity was written: the Phelps Bank. Below, is the earliest photo of the bank that I am able to find, from 1890:

Phelps Bank - 1890
Phelps Bank - 1890
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Shortly after this picture was taken, Phelps Bank received a bit of construction, and a facelift:

Broome County Historical Society
Broome County Historical Society
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A mere 8 years after this construction, the Phelps Bank building caught fire on the rooftop, as the Second Empire roofs were made of wood, and were sensitive to many issues. For the Phelps Bank, this issue was fire.

Broome County Historical Society
Broome County Historical Society
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Broome County Historical Society
Broome County Historical Society
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After the fire, the detailed wood portions of the Second Empire rooftop were removed, in order to cut down on the susceptibility of them:

Broome County Historical Society
Broome County Historical Society
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This necessary update and remodel were fairly short-lived because the entire building was removed in 1929, and replaced with the "First National Bank". The new bank shared the same groundwork and foundation area, but it was only 4 stories instead of the original 6. Much of this was because of the Great Depression in the 1930s - the First National Bank merged with City National Bank, and became the "First City National Bank". This downtown staple is currently empty, but we're hoping that these vacancies will soon be filled, and help to renew the entire downtown Binghamton area!

Guess what happened in 1892, just down the road a half a block? Binghamton's link to the one and only John Wilkes Booth!

[via BCHS]

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