Coos Bay National Bank Building
historic building in Coos Bay, Oregon, USA
The Coos Bay National Bank Building is a historic commercial building in Coos Bay, Oregon, United States. Completed in 1924, it is an outstanding example of Beaux-Arts eclecticism with a Classical theme by the architecture firm of Tourtellotte and Hummel. It is especially notable as the only building of its architectural type in the Coos Bay area. Although its design integrity has been compromised somewhat, especially by removal of a low dome over the entrance rotunda and modifications to the surrounds of the entry door, it still conveys the essential character-defining traits of its design. It served as the headquarters of the Coos Bay National Bank from its construction until Coos Bay National Bank merged with U.S. National Bank in 1956. The building remained a branch of U.S. National Bank until 1975. Coos Bay National Bank, a community fixture founded in 1915 as the Scandinavian American Bank, exemplified the trend of ethnic banks in the United States and Scandinavian settlement around Coos Bay. As a business institution it played a leading role in the development of Coos Bay during the period between the world wars and in the city's emergence as a major lumber port. It was the only one of four locally controlled banks to survive the Great Depression.
The building was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Coos Bay National Bank Building” as historic building in Coos Bay, Oregon, USA. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as historic building in Coos Bay, Oregon, USA. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q103819551. Authority coordinates are 43.368, -124.214. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1924, 1956, 1975 and 1915.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Coos Bay National Bank Building” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.