The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-10-28
Landmark Scene of Many Activities in Early Days of the Busy Steel
 City CONVENIENCE AND ELEGANCE COMBINED IN NEW BUILDING
Bank Regarded as One of the Strongest Institutions in the State-Public
 Conference Room
By CHARLES H. MANDY

In the early ninetes, Homer Daven- port the famous cartoonist, paid a visit to Birmingham and among his local drawings made a cartoon of young engineer with seemingly partic- ular keen vision. gazing intently ap- parently into the future, and under this masterpiece was the inscription, Ramsay sees something" Time has since proved that the cartoonist sized up his subject pretty well, for he has shown keen insight in the things that make for industrial development and brought many of them to a successful conclusion. He is identified with man of equally keen vision and insight and both have added greatly to the material prosperity of this great section, and the names of Ramsay and Mccormack are synonymous with success
 In the spring of 1899 they "saw" an opportunity for the establishment of bank at Ensley. and on May 10 of that year, the Bank of Ensley (Ramsay & Mccormack was established in the old office building on the corner of Nine- teenth street and Avenue F. Robert Berry was the cashier, and a slightly built youth of a retiring disposition and much given to blushing was his assistant. His name was Robert E. Chadwick. With the completion in 1900 of the building the bank was moved to It's preesnt location. and after IS years of phenomenal success the quarters be- came entirely inadequate for the grow ing institution and the new building now under construction was planned.
 BANK ESTABLISHED
 Messrs. Ramsay and Mccormack saw we'll when they established the Bank of Ensley. for under their skillful guidance the bank has come to be regarded as one of the strongest banking institu- tions in the stateI And this Is due in great measure to the confidence re- posed in the bank and it's officers by the public, for it has Ramsay and Me- Cormack behind 1t. From a small be- ginning the bank has grown and now over $1,500,000 Is on deposit and the de- posits are still growing. The capital stock is $100.000. with a surplus of $100,000. The bank is under the super vision of the state banking department
 Since the organization of the bank the institution has had three cashiers, Robert Berry, Charles Nolen and Rob- ert ID. Chadwick, who is at the helm at present. There is no more popular man in the city than Gap" Chadwick, as he is called by his intimate friends and associates, anc to him is due a large measure of praise for the success of the bank during the many years he , has been in charge. The present officers of the bank are Erskine Ramsay, pres fldent; G. B. Mccormack, vice president; Robert E. Chadwick, vice president and cashier, and s. C. King, assistant cashier.
 
 In planning the new bank building the officers had this for their slogan, The most elegant, modern and attrac- tive bank building in Alabama" They naturally felt that one of the most solid and substantial institutions in the south deserved one of the best bank buildings in the south.
 WHITE MARBLE STRUCTURE
 The new home, representing an invest ment of $150000, will be situated on the northwest corner of Avenue E and Nine teenth street, opposite our present home The structure will be one story high The plans call for white Georgia marble for the front and two sides and.white tap estry brick for the rear. The building is to be of reinforced concrete and steel construction throughout, with steel win dow frames in order to make it abso- lutely freproof.
 White marble and bronze fixtures will feature the interior, and special care has been taken to provide extraordinary light and fresh air facilities for the em- pioyes Cork floors are to be used in the work space and white tile floors in the banking rooms. On the banking floor there will be burglar proof vault of steel, divided into three separate com partments, one for cash and currency, another for safe deposit boxes and anoth- CT for the books and records of the bank. In the basement a large vault, half the size of the lot, Is to be built. Storage vaults. heating system for winter, and an air cooling system for summer will all be perfectly modern in every detail
 A separate ladies department will have