New Life to an Old Bank Building – Part 1

The “Bank Building” as we like to call it is located on the corner of Main Street and Broadway in Seminole, Oklahoma. A small town by many standards but great in heart, high school football and Oklahoma spirit.

The building was originally built to be a bank, First National, years later it held art council events. It has since housed a bakery, flower shop, hair salon, clothing boutique, and various other retail shops and offices. The upstairs held law offices and most recently an apartment style living space.

This building has been in my family for many years. We acquired it after it was no longer a working bank. I was a child at the time and I remember going upstairs with my siblings to the “offices” shortly after it was purchased and playing with the old bank paperwork pretending to be a teller.

History of the Building

I believe the building was one of the first brick buildings in downtown Seminole. It’s a two-story brick structure approximately 8,900 square feet.

In recent years, there has been an interest in revitalizing downtowns in Oklahoma. A project was created to help rejuvenate Oklahoma Main Streets. Architects were sent out to give advice on downtown structures. In talking with one of the architects my mom got the idea to split the bottom floor into two commercial leasing spaces instead of just one. The building is now divided into three rental spaces. Two commercial spaces on the bottom floor and a residential apartment style space on the top. The downstairs is currently rented to tenants as office and retail space.

Value of an Old Building

The hit show Home Town on HGTV is filmed in Laurel, Mississippi which has an 18,000 person population. My hometown, Seminole, Oklahoma has around 7,500. Although Seminole’s population is less I find similarities in the communities pride for their hometown. The show is so inspiring, huh? Being raised in a small town, knowing the history and seeing the potential gets me super excited. I love the idea of preserving old properties. They have so much character, history and interest. Also, I think it’s important to try to use what we already have. The waste of building materials once structures are torn down is devastating not to mention the cost of building new and the lack of quality materials in some new structures.

First Floor Updates

Over the years since my family has owned the building we have done projects to improve the property. About seven years ago Brent and I worked with my parents and brother to update the downstairs. First, we divided the first floor into two separate rental spaces.

This required switching out the two teller windows. One was a walk-up teller window and one was a drive-up window accessed from the alley. We replaced the walk-up teller window with an additional entrance door enabling the back part of the building to have a retail entrance door. The drive-up teller window was replaced with a standard window which was more feasible for commercial use.

We tried to preserve as many of the original features as possible. We painted walls and removed carpet (not an easy task, carpet glue is a beast) to expose the concrete floor.

The old bank lobby is now completely open and used for commercial space. The back part of the bank, the second commercial rental space, is where both of the teller windows were located and most likely originally were used as office and storage space. The old walk-in bank vault, which at one time had been converted to a freezer for a bakery, still remains. In the large vault room we exposed the original rock creating a beautiful accent wall.

The upstairs is made up of many rooms that once served as offices with a few bathrooms and a long wide hall. I go into detail about the upstairs in this post.

Required Safety Features

In order for the top floor to be inhabited, we had to add is a few fire safety features such as a second interior staircase for an additional exit and smoke detectors that were hard-wired to the electric. Also, we had a new electric meter installed which split the electric so there would be separate electricity bills for the tenants. None of this was easy or inexpensive. We also had to request a new address for the additional spaces.

Creating an Eye Catching Exterior

As far as the exterior goes, my parents had a new roof put on previously so the roof was in good condition. The entrance located on the Main Street side at one time had been covered with corrugated tin. We removed the tin and had the brick work restored. Windows on both floors needed to be caulked. Grout repair needed to be done at several spots around the building.

Once all that was finished, which was no small task and took lots of time and effort on scaffolding, we were able to have the exterior painted. We received a facade grant from Seminole Main Street, Inc. The paint job totally transformed the look and feel of the building. Instead of being hidden and almost unnoticed it now stands tall with fresh paint glistening in the sunshine hopeful and ready for the future.

Dream Project

I can’t emphasize enough how much I love this building. Yes, it was hard work and repairs can get costly, but when you care about something and want to see it revived rather than forgotten that drives you to restore. There is a drive that pushes to revitalize what so many small towns in America possess, a crumbing downtown that needs new life breathed into it.

One of the best parts of updating the building was the fact that we were able to learn from my parents during the process. We had no idea that my dad would pass away a little over 4 years later. We dreamed together, got dusty together, figured out problems together and built things with our own hands.

My brother, Trevor, was also a huge asset to the many projects we completed. It was so cool to see my dad guiding and teaching him. We had such a fun time designing and using the materials my parents had gathered over the years. My family is good at being resourceful with projects, using found and up-cycled materials rather than always buying new. Practicality is always part of the design with the goal to make something useful and beautiful.

A Building with More to Give

As hard as it is to move from something you love, my family is putting this beauty up for sale. My dad has passed away and my mom no longer lives in Seminole. No matter how hard it is to let go of a passion project and something you hold so dear to your heart there is hope of its future and that is what makes it all okay. There is still so much potential, so many more projects, in a building that thought it had already lived its glory days, new glory days are ahead.

If you are interested in purchasing “The Bank Building,” you can view the listing here. It’s a steal of a deal, believe me.

You can read all about the 2nd floor in New Life to an Old Bank Building – Part 2. We worked to update it as well. The original wood floors I painted black are still my favorite.

Have you ever dreamed of restoring an old house or building?

You may also enjoy Building a Passive Solar Concrete Home and The Charm and Change of Downtown, Seminole, Oklahoma.

(Various photos by Jamie Cupp)

If you purchase from a link on this blog a small percentage of the sale may come back to me. You are never charged more for the product. It’s a way to keep this site going and I’m very selective about the things I list. It’s mostly things we already own and love or things I think you would enjoy. Thank you for reading!