Devereux

The Savings Bank of Utica, "The Bank with the Gold Dome," is a Utica landmark. It stands out because of both its impressive gold dome and close affiliation with the history and growth of Utica and the Mohawk Valley. The bank is nearly as old as the city. Its origin extends back to the days before the Erie Canal, when Utica was merely a village.

The history of The Savings Bank of Utica begins with John C. Devereux, who left Ireland just before the Rebellion of 1798. After arriving in the just-named village of Utica in 1802, he opened a general store. His younger brother, Nicholas Devereux, joined him in 1806. At that time Utica was at the center of Mohawk River trade and an important transportation point for pioneers moving westward. As such, it became an early hub of commerce within the state.

The Devereuxs built a new brick store on the west side of Bagg's Square in 1814. It was comparatively fireproof and its strongbox was safe against ordinary theft. Uticans respected the honesty of the brothers and a few of them began to entrust their excess cash to the Devereuxs. It is not known whether the Devereuxs first offered this service as a neighborly convenience or as a response to requests from their customers. However it began, the Devereuxs were soon accepting cash, not only for temporary safekeeping, but long-term savings.

Under construction

The Devereux brothers and Stalham Williams, their clerk, began investing their depositors' savings and paying them dividends. This informal beginning of The Savings Bank of Utica occurred two years before the formal opening of the country's first savings bank. Thus, The Savings Bank of Utica may be said to be among the first savings banks in the United States.

The first section of the Erie Canal from Utica to Rome opened in 1819. Trade flourished and as it did the task of providing safekeeping for workers' savings, which the Devereuxs had undertaken five years earlier, became a great responsibility. They considered it wise, to establish a formal bank and accordingly applied for a charter, which the state granted in 1821.

This charter was for a bank owned by the depositors and managed by a board of trustees, members of which would have no financial interest in the bank and serve without pay. The trustees would safely invest all money deposited. The income earned would, after proper deductions for expenses and a surplus held to protect the safety of the institution, be paid to the depositors as dividends. Although this first charter was not put into effect, officers were elected, including John C. Devereux, president.

Dome Construction

In 1837 the first of the great financial panics swept the country. Many people, particularly land speculators, suffered large losses. Probably as a reaction to the panic, the Devereuxs experienced a large increase in the number of depositors. No doubt influenced by the increase in the volume of business, the Devereuxs applied for a second charter, and, on April 26, 1839, The Savings Bank of Utica was formally chartered. John C. Devereux became the bank's first president, Thomas Walker became vice-president, and Stalham Williams became secretary and treasurer. The bank was located in the offices of Nicholas Devereux on Bleecker Street.

About 1852 the bank moved to 167 Genesee Street, just south of Bleecker Street. Deposits increased greatly during the Civil War years, from $565,433 at the end of 1861 to $1,254,750 at the end of 1865. This growth made larger quarters necessary and the trustees directed the construction of a new building on the south-west corner of Genesee and Lafayette streets. This building, completed in early 1870, had an iron facade painted to resemble marble. The bank was promptly nicknamed "The Iron Bank," an informal title which stuck until the present building was constructed.

By the end of the 19th century, the bank again needed more space. It purchased the former home of Alexander Bryan Johnson and began construction of a new building in July 1898. The new Italian Renaissance edifice, designed by R.W. Gibson of New York City, opened for business in February 1900. The most striking feature of the building is a large gold dome with an out-side diameter of 52 feet and an inside height above the lobby floor of about 50 feet. The dome has always been covered with real 23-karat gold leaf and the bank became known as "The Bank with the Gold Dome."

Twice since the building was constructed, it has undergone major renovations. In 1929 a 30-foot wing was added to the north side and a 10-foot addition to the rear. In 1964 a mezzanine floor was added, new front and parking lot entrances opened, the ceiling under the inside of the dome lowered, and a 65-foot teller counter installed.

As part of its growth, it opened its first branch office in the New Hartford Shopping Center in 1961. By the mid-1970s, additional branches had been opened in Whitestown, Herkimer, and the Riverside Mall in Utica. In late 1977 the bank began construction of a new 50,000-square-foot annex contiguous to the main office. This building opened in January 1979 and provides an attractive, modern work environment for many of the bank's employees, as well as several tenants.

The Savings Bank of Utica was a leader, as symbolized by its landmark main office building, in providing financial services to the residents of the Mohawk Valley. "The Bank with the Gold Dome" can look back proudly at its history as one of the pioneers in the industry.