Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-26
A TEMPLE BANK.
The Temple is Bank, the
Unknown are Depositors.
PUT INTO A BANK BUILDING
One Hundred Thousand Dollars Without
DiscoverabIe Owners Used to
Erect a Very Beautiful
Building.
Special to the Gazette.


New YORK, Nov 21.-A mystery is dis
PEELED. During the past year very beau
tiful structure in marble has been slowly
and lazily developing its proportions at the
corner of Sixth avenue and Sixteenth
street, which is in the very heart OF New
1ork'S busiest retail shopping district. Ad-
joining the site in the cross-street stands
the imposing church and college of st.
Xavier, and the architecture of the new
structure is so church-like that most peo-
pie believed that it was an extension of the
ST. Xavier establishment Still, it was
marveled that so very costly corner, with
a goodly frontage on the avenue, should be
devoted to religious purposes. Owners and
occupants of neighboring premises could
not learn tie purpose of the new building,
and 1t was matter of wonder why, if it
was destined for house of worship, there
should be any secret about it. Real estate
men aScertained that the ground had been
conveyed to a capitalist, and that the con-
tracts for the work were made with him, but
he declined TO explain. 1t did not seem
possible that he was gong to establish a
church without a congregation on a bust
ness corner and at so great cost, yet that
was one of the surmises. A placard now
solves the riddle, it says: "This building
will be occupied by the Greenwich savings
bank" 1t is a temple to the unknown. for
1t is being built with the accumulation of
Unclaimed deposits IN one OIL our Oldest saw
ings banks.
The Greenwich is an ancient and solid
institution, founded when the village of
Greenwich was a suburb of New York city.
The present banking house is ten blocks
further down Sixth avenue, in a situation
lying just between two differently populous
quarterS-one filed with highly respectable
people Of moderate means, or just such as
are always the chief supporters of savings
banks, and the other inhabited until very
lately by horde of vicious folks. These
latter were also depositors in the Green
witch, and it is they who have most heavily
provided the money for this temple to the
unknown. The law of this state makes no
provision as to what shall be done with I'M
claimed deposits, further than to stipulate
that they cease to draw interest after re-
naming twenty years undisturbed. The
directors of the Greenwich found, two
years ago, that a careful examination of
their books showed an aggregate of more
than $1,000 GOO that had remained unchanged
by either additions, subtractions or other
indication that the depositor was alive.
The sums separately Were very small, not
one being above 500. and the great number
under S.. not counting accrued interest.
The question what 10 do with the money
was discussed. 1t was desired to move the
bank a little further up town; so it was
finally determined to buy the site already
described and build thereon the finest saw
ings bank in town. The material is stone
and iron, with very ornate exterior, per-
fectly fire-proof, and containing nothing
else than quarters for the banks business.
Thus 1t will be unproductive from any sub
let portions, and thus undisfgured by any,
thing to make it look other than like some
luxurious temple.