Isabella
23-25 S. Market Street
The First National Bank in 1915. From the Fasold Flickr collection
Since 2007 a restaurant has operated in this space, but for most of its history banks have been located here. There are actually two lots here, though they have been combined into one building since 1926.
→ Before the Civil War, one-story frame buildings were located here, housing a blacksmith’s shop and a saddler.
→ In 1864 the First National Bank of Selinsgrove was initiated. It was unit #357 of the 683 banks begun under provisions of the National Banking Act passed during the administration of Abraham Lincoln. This Act was designed to both stabilize the country’s currency and provide a vehicle for funding the costs of the Civil War.
First National Bank
The bank was launched by the leading citizens of the town in the home of George Schnure, now the Selinsgrove Commons. Schnure was joined as a Director by Henry Eyer, Wm. F. Wagenseller, A.C. Simpson, and Joseph Eyster, all from town; Moses Specht of Beavertown, George Moyer of Freeburg and N.B. Hurlman of Liverpool.
→ The Bank opened in April 1864 at 27 South Market in a building owned by John App. In 1868 it moved to this location, a two-unit structure. The bank was on the north side and Calvin North’s residence was on the south side.
→ For much of the twentieth century, Selinsgrove’s Post Office was located north of this building. It was owned by the bank.
→ The Great Fire of 1872 destroyed many of the properties on the east side of Market Street and on Water Street. The bank building was spared because it was composed of brick and had a tin roof.
→ In 1925 plans were made to enlarge the bank, combining the residence and the extant bank. Both buildings were razed in July 1925. The bank moved temporarily into the Post Office space next door. In January 1926 the new building was finished. The grand opening at the end of this month drew over 5,000 curious residents.
→ The finished bank was much as it is now, on the outside and the inside. It featured Italian Renaissance style, with interior walls twenty-four feet high, griffins on each side of the exterior, and three large windows flanked by pilasters. The bank vault door is 16 inches thick, 8 inches of which is solid steel, non-burnable and non-drillable.
→ In 1963 the First National Bank was absorbed by Tri-County Bank, initiating a period of bank sales and consolidation. In 1987 the bank joined with North Central Bank, and in 2001 it joined again with M & T Bank.
→ In 2007 the building was purchased by the Skinner family, who opened a restaurant in this space called Irene’s.
→ In 2011 Domenico Napoli purchased the restaurant and opened Isabella, which continues to operate here.