The First National Bank

The First National Bank, distinguished by its Queen Ann turret, became a Main Street landmark in Seneca. Designed in the Richardsonian style with decorative ramparts and brickwork, it expressed grandeur and permanence as signs of the town's growing success in 1889, while its cornerstone recalled the bank's founding in 1874. Tiffany-inspired windows adorned the banking hall, which also featured ornate wooden cashier counters and a tile floor, and the upper story contained apartments and professional offices. During the Great Depression, the bank failed and was sold, and later owners subdivided the building into apartments. After a hailstorm broke many west-side windows and they were covered with cedar shakes, the building deteriorated, as did many Victorian buildings in rural Kansas. Its listing on the Kansas and National Register of Historic Places in 2006 began preservation efforts. In 2008, enterprising Senecans purchased the building, converted it into the Cornerstone Coffe Haus, restored the colorful art-glass windows, upgraded the utilities, and gave new life to the popular soda fountain rescued from Harsh's Drug Store across Main. Today the restored building thrives again as a bright, comfortable meeting place in a re-energized Seneca.

Seneca, Kansas · United States