Cracked walls, shifting stairs, sagging floors mean renovations for Old State Bank

Mar. 23—The growing crack in the north wall, the wall that sits a few feet from Wilson Street where tens of thousands of cars, trucks and semis pass daily, was the first warning sign. Then came the shifting of the outside stairs and the sinking of the floor.

Standing in Decatur's Old State Bank, built in 1833 and one of the city's four buildings that survived the Civil War, Caroline Swope motioned to the physical signs depicting the structure's age.

"This is a pretty special building. This is one of Decatur's iconic buildings. It defines the city and has defined the city for almost 200 years," said Swope, the historic preservation specialist for Decatur. "The building deserves a spa day. It needs a lot of tender loving care."

If all goes to plan, that "tender loving care," which will cost several million dollars, will begin in late summer or early fall.

"It has been a long time since the building has received major upgrades. The building is going to go through some pretty major work in the next year," Swope said.

The last major renovation of the Old State Bank occurred in the late 1970s. Before that, the bank underwent a restoration in the 1930s.

Engineers and historians agree the time has come once again for the bank to undergo more work.

"Our goal is to keep the Old State Bank in shape so people can keep visiting it for the next 200 years," Swope said.

To determine the work needed, the city enlisted the assistance of Lord Aeck Sargent, an Atlanta-based engineering company with a history of working with historic buildings, and Bennett Engineering, a South Carolina company with experience in antebellum load-bearing walls.

"That is very important because this building is held up by the bricks. It's so old that there is no steel in the structure, which is very rare," Swope said.

A study of the historic building, which Swope described as an in-depth doctor's examination, included cutting-edge technology — a laser scan of the structure and infrared photography to show moisture damage.

The exam revealed the need to remove a tree growing into the foundation of the building, reinforce the joists, do structural work in the basement, tie down the roof and north wall and, one of the most pressing issues, stabilize the outside stairs.

"The stairs are a high priority. The earth holding them up has started to give way. The stairs have shifted so much that if you dropped your keys in the wrong place, you probably wouldn't get them back," Swope said. "To fix the stairs, the columns will have to be stabilized. Essentially, an exoskeleton will be built to ensure the columns, which are perfectly straight — which was a surprise to the engineers because of how much the stairs have shifted — don't move."

As the city's tour coordinator of the Old State Bank, Suzanne Langdon has witnessed the building's slow deterioration over the past few years.

"It was the crack in the wall above the stairs that first got my attention. I watched it grow and grow. It now goes all along the wall," said Langdon, whose office sits inside the Old State Bank.

Due to the building's condition, the Decatur City Council closed off the second floor to visitors in March 2023. The city also removed the teller's cage, a fixture of the bank since the 1980s, due to its weight.

"The cage was just too heavy for the floor. You can see where the cage was causing the floor to dip," Langdon said.

"Let's be honest. If I lived to be 200 years old, my bones would be dipping, too," Swope said.

While the second floor remains closed, people can still visit the first floor of the bank until work begins on the historical landmark, which has served as a bank, private residence, saloon, boarding house, Union hospital, prison for Confederate soldiers, servicemen's club, civic center, doctor's office, tourism office and American Legion post.

During the in-depth examination, the engineers, at Swope's request, determined which elements were original to the Old State Bank. The list is short.

"The original items are the vault, the scroll work around the vault, the inner door of the vault, the doorway to the office and pieces of this," Langdon said, pointing to the underside of the ledge between the main room and the vault. "That is it."

In what Swope called a "loose guestimate," she said work on the building could begin in late summer or early fall.

"There is still a lot to do. We still don't have the full scope of the project, we haven't figured out the stages, we have to go through the bid process, go to the council and secure funding," Swope said.

Last year, the Alabama Historical Commission granted $482,357 for the Old State Bank. To supplement that money, Swope hopes to receive federal support.

"The project will cost several million, but this building is worth it. This is one of only two state banks still standing in Alabama and the only one open to the public," Swope said. "This is where bridal photos are taken, prom photos are taken and graduation photos are taken. When you think of Decatur, you think of the Old State Bank."

"This is something very special we are going to get to do," Langdon added. "How often do you get to love on your city's icon?"

— cgodbey@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2441. Twitter @DecaturLiving.