Northwestern National Bank, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 3491)
Northwestern National Bank/Northwestern NB & TC, Philadelphia, PA (Chartered 1886 - Receivership 1934)
Town History
Philadelphia is located in Philadelphia County.
Philadelphia had 70 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 62 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized April 3, 1886
- Chartered April 23, 1886
- 2: Conservatorship March 14, 1933
- 2: Receivership June 25, 1934
The Northwestern National Bank of Philadelphia
On March 20, 1886, about fifty gentlemen interested in the organization of the Northwestern National Bank assembled at 1902 College Avenue to perfect the subscriptions to the shares of stock. Harry P. Crowell was elected president and J. Catherwood Robinson secretary of the meeting. The proposed capital stock was $200,000. The new bank would be located in the neighborhood of Ridge and Girard Avenues. On the 24th the following directors were agreed to: Jacob Schandein, John Joseph Alter, Henry C. Mosebach, Theodore C. Engle, J. Catherwood Robinson, James B. Doyle, Harry P. Crowell, George W. Roydhouse, James E. Dingee, William Charlton, Andrew C. Patterson, James C. Buckingham, and Clark J. Wood. The officers elected were James B. Doyle, president; H.P. Crowell, vice president. The bank located on the corner of Girard Avenue and Ridge, with 52 feet on Girard and 27 feet on Ridge. The building was brick, stone and copper, of Romanesque architecture and cost $45,000.
On February 1, 1887, the Northwestern National Bank opened the doors of its new, richly ornamented building. The base was of Fox Island granite about three feet high, then about 6 feet of battering rock faced Hummelstown brownstone, above this a combination of brick laid in red mortar, English tiles, brownstone and copper work. The entrance featured a portico supported by heavy polished granite columns. The interior was fitted up with oak, the walls being lined eight feet high with Tennessee and Knoxville marble with a cap and base of Pennsylvania bluestone. The remainder of the walls which were 38 feet high was of tinted buff. The floor was of Italian marble. Two vaults, one was for banking business and a second was fitted with 500 safe boxes. Mr. Otto C. Wolf was the architect and the building was erected under contract by Charles McCaul, builder, No. 20 North Eleventh Street, Philadelphia. The directors in September 1887 were James B. Doyle, H.P. Crowell, Jacob Schandein, Henry Mosebach, Thodore C. Engel, J. Catherwood Robinson, James E. Dingee, George W. Roydhouse, A.C. Patterson, James Buckingham, Miles King, Christian Schmidt, and E.B. Edwards.
On Tuesday, January 14, 1902, the following officers were elected: George W. Roydhouse, president; Louis J. Bauer, vice president; Joseph Channon, cashier. The directors were Henry Mosebach, J.C. Robinson, Louis J. Bauer, Daniel S. Dengler, August W. Woebken, Otto C. Wolf, Jesse L. Doyle, D. Charles Murtha, Edward A. Schmidt, G.R. Rebmann, George P. Schober, Joseph Channon, John E. Hanifen, and Henry C. Disston.
In June 1913, at a special meeting of the board of directors, Mr. John R. Livezey and Jos. P. Wittman were elected directors to fill the vacancies caused by the death of Jesse L. Doyle and Jos. F. Wittman.
In March 1933, unusually heavy withdrawals in recent weeks led the Northwestern National to invoke the provisions of the legislative resolution limiting withdrawals. Edward A. Schmidt explained, "The action was taken to protect our depositors." "There have been quite a few persons who withdrew heavily during the past few days. New deposits, in accordance with the law, will be segregated and will not be affected by the plan. They may be withdrawn in their entirety at any times." A plan would be summited to Washington concerning the percentage which depositors could withdraw. An announcement of the amount would not be made until approved by the Comptroller of the Currency.
Northwestern National Bank in Philadelphia (Charter 14197)
On December 22, 1933, reorganization plans of the Northwestern National Bank and Trust Co., Broad St. and Fairmount Avenue, were approved by the comptroller of the currency. The institution would reopen with $500,000 of capital and a $100,000 surplus. RFC would purchase $250,000 worth of preferred stock. The balance of the capital would consist of 10,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $25 a share. This stock would be sold at $35 a share in order to provide the $100,000 surplus. A committee of businessmen was working to raise the $350,000 which the community needed to supply before the bank would be certified to reopen. Meanwhile, liquidation of the assets of the old Northwestern National continued and additional dividends would be paid to depositors caught in the institution's fold-up. Northwestern National Bank and Trust Co. was founded more than 47 years ago and for many years prior to 1929 showed one of the best earning records of any bank in Philadelphia.
On June 16, 1934, the Northwestern National Bank in Philadelphia, Charter 14197, received a charter, succeeding the old Northwestern National Bank and Trust Company. On June 18, 1934, the Northwestern National Bank, Broad Street and Fairmont Avenue, which had been under a conservator since the banking holiday in March 1933, reopened for business at 9 AM. Depositors with frozen assets would find 20% available for withdrawal. A loan of $1,165,000 from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was made possible by the success of the reorganization committee. The bank reopened with total capital and surplus of $600,000. James A. Bell, a member of the reorganization committee, was president and Linford C. Nice, former cashier was vice president. Claire H. White who had been conservator since the institution closed was the new cashier, and Charles J. Stahl, Jr., former assistant trust officer, was named trust officer. Directors of the reorganized bank included D. Edward McAllister, chairman of the reorganization committee; M.J. Hibbs Buckman, Charles Dickerman, John R. Liveney, Lee Nusbaum, Edward Powell, Godfrey R. Rebmann, Edward A. Schmidt, Mr. Bell, and A. Raymond Raff, superintendent of the U.S. Mint.
In January 1946, the officers were James A. Bell, president; and Claire H. White, vice president and cashier. The directors were Arthur R. Bell, James A. Bell, J. Hibbs Buckman, Walter H. Eichelberger, Claire H. White, Lee Nusbaum, and Eugene F. Wagner. At the close of 1945, the bank had total assets of $18,724,425.55.
On Monday, September 13, 1954, the merger of Northwestern National Bank with Broad Street Trust Co. became effective, increasing the number of Broad Street Trust offices to nine and increasing its assets to more than $100,000,000, making it Philadelphia's ninth largest bank. Hubert J. Horan, Jr., president of Broad Street Trust, became president of the consolidated institution. Adolph Lorch continued as executive vice president. Claire H. White became a vice president of Broad Street Trust. Other officers and employees of Northwestern National would continue to serve in their respective positions. Prior to the merger, Broad Street Trust maintained six offices in Philadelphia: Mid-city office, Broad and Market Streets; Uptown office, Broad and Stiles Streets; North Broad office, Broad Street and Nedro Avenue; Chestnut Hill office, Germantown Avenue and Gravers Lane; Banca D'Italia office, 8th and Christian Streets, and its new Northeast office which opened August 30th at 6824 Bustleton Avenue, between Cottman Street and Roosevelt Boulevard. Three new offices were added as a result of the merger. They were the Northwestern office, Broad Street and Fairmont Avenue; West Philadelphia office, 3928 Lancaster Avenue, and the Glenside office, Easton Road and Glenside Avenue. All three were equipped with facilities for drive-in bank service. In addition, eight of Broad Street Trust's offices provided free parking facilities for patrons.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Northwestern National Bank of Philadelphia, PA
2: The Northwestern National Bank and Trust Company of Philadelphia, PA (8/3/1929)
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $4,891,880 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1886 and 1934. This consisted of a total of 401,265 notes (346,364 large size and 54,901 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 3250 1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 16589 1: 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 4500 1: 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 28100 1: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 28101 - 62252 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 6366 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 1590 2: 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 5623 2: 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1542
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1886 - 1934):
Presidents:
- James B. Doyle, 1886-1895
- George W. Roydhouse, 1896-1904
- Louis John "Ludwig" Bauer, 1905-1906
- Edward A. Schmidt, 1907-1932
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Northwestern National Bank, Philadelphia, PA History (NB Lookup)
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Philadelphia, PA, on Wikipedia
- Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
- Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphia, PA.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Sun., Mar. 21, 1886.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Mar. 25, 1886.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Mar. 31, 1886.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Sat., Nov. 13, 1886.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Feb. 2, 1887.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Sep. 15, 1887.
- The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Jan. 15, 1902.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., June 4, 1913.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Mar. 2, 1933.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Sat., Dec. 23, 1933.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Sun., June 17, 1934.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Thu., Jan. 3, 1946.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Inq. Mon., Sep. 13, 1954.